Gaining a New Perspective

When my boss asked me to join her on a trip to Ghana to lead a Marketing skills workshop for a local non-profit organization focused on promoting early detection of cancer in the country, I didn’t hesitate to say ‘Yes.’ While I had traveled to Tanzania for a safari trip with my family and to South Africa previously, I had never been anywhere in West Africa, nor truly experienced what’s it’s like to be out in the local communities. I’ve also been passionate for many years about improving access to healthcare for those who need it most, and this trip was a hands-on opportunity to make an impact with a company working on the front lines of care.

Zurak Cancer Foundation (ZCF), the organization we worked with in Ghana, is a youth-run non-governmental organization focused on driving awareness, education and early detection of cancer in hard-to-reach communities. Cancer is the fourth most common cause of death in Ghana, yet is a low public health priority in the country due to limited resources and other pressing health needs.  While 1/3 of cancer deaths are preventable by early diagnosis through screening, thousands of people wait too long to get checked until it’s too late.  The CEO and founder of ZCF, Abdul Zurak, intends to change that. 

In joining this endeavor, I learned a lot about what Johnson & Johnson is doing to address the most pressing health challenges around the world that affect the most vulnerable people. I also gained a new perspective about how much work there is still to be done, as well as about how a small group of determined people can make a difference. 

I knew that Johnson & Johnson – the world’s largest healthcare company – does a lot to address global healthcare issues by improving access to care (e.g. donating over 1 billion doses of mebendazole to date as part of the company’s commitment to Children Without Worms), advocating to advance health (e.g. partnering on the U.N. Millennium Development Goals), and participating in disaster relief efforts (e.g. raising over $2 million for those impacted by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico). What I wasn’t as familiar with is the wonderful work led by our Global Community Impact (GCI) group, which supports and champions change makers on the front lines who are at the heart of delivering care.   

One of the programs GCI supports is One Young World, which invests in young leaders (aged 18-30), giving them the opportunity to learn from and share health solutions with other innovators from around the world. Each scholar receives individual coaching from senior J&J leaders, which is how my boss met the CEO of ZCF – Abdul is a 2017 Johnson & Johnson One Young World Scholar – and then arranged for a small group of us to visit his organization on the ground to conduct a customized management skills program.

 As a busy executive leading a multi-billion-dollar business, I wasn’t sure what to expect when meeting with the small NGO run entirely by Millennials (or maybe they’re Centennials?) in Africa. Would they appreciate the brand positioning, business finance and other strategic planning tools we would discuss? Would we simply be dropping in for a few days and make no lasting impact? Well, after spending a week with the amazing leadership team and volunteers at ZCF, I can honestly say that they exceeded my expectations. Not only were they hungry for knowledge, they were also extremely bright, driven and fun-loving individuals with a common mission to save lives. In fact, seeing them in action on the streets of Ghana educating disadvantaged women about the importance of cancer screening re-kindled in me the belief that anything is possible, and I learned just as much from them – if not more – as they learned from us. I’m also confident that they’re making as much out of our engagement as possible, leveraging the new networks we introduced them to and the business tools we shared.

Reflecting on the experience a few weeks later, it reminds me how important it is to step back from our day-to-day lives and see things from a new perspective.  Traveling to Ghana brought to life how different the healthcare infrastructure and dynamics are there, where they have a fundamental need for public health awareness and education, basic training for doctors, nurses and midwives, and even essential medical equipment – things we tend to take for granted in developed countries.  At the same time, the people we met in Ghana were optimistic, entrepreneurial and truly believed that they can change the world. I think there’s a lot more we in the corporate world can and should do to help, and there’s also a lot of inspiration we can draw from these change makers.  While they may have limited resources and tough hurdles to overcome, they’re determined to find a way forward, driven by a clear sense of purpose.  I’m so grateful for the opportunity my boss provided for me to contribute to J&J’s Global Community Impact work and to revitalize my spirit and passion for making a difference for others. My question to you is: What gives you perspective?

Annet Eijkelkamp Abdul Samed Zurak