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Sep 2025
41m 21s

On life's journey, make each step count,...

UNITED NATIONS, MELISSA FLEMING
About this episode

How does one out of five sisters from rural Nigeria grow up to be UN Deputy Secretary-General? Blessed with tenacity, determination and grit, Amina Mohammed has always been driven to improve the lives of her fellow human beings and our planet. Rising to the top of the United Nations, her vision has helped shape the world's blueprint for a brighter future.

"One step at a time, this whole life is about a journey. Make each step count. It is about taking people with you. Don't do this alone. It's too heavy. You need people to cry with you, laugh with you."

Amina Mohammed is known for making the impossible possible, and has relied on a strong moral compass and the strength of her convictions across a long and varied career of service. In this episode, the UN Deputy Secretary-General and mother-of-six and grandmother to five reflects on what the Sustainable Development Goals have meant in her own life and shares what chocolate and traditional clothes have to do with strong leadership.

"Muslims in Nigeria say, well, there you go, this is a woman working in the international scene, and she's not shy or embarrassed to wear her culture or her religion and to stand proud with it."

Transcript and photos: www.un.org/en/awake-at-night/s…ake-each-step-count

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