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.”

Related content and photos: https://www.un.org/en/awake-at-night/s11-amina-j-mohammed-on-lifes-journey-make-each-step-count

S11-E8: On life’s journey, make each step count, with Amina J. Mohammed

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What does it take to be a United Nations worker in some of the world’s most complex and dangerous places? How are UN humanitarians, human rights advocates, prosecutors, development experts, climate leaders and peacekeepers improving our world? Stationed in all reaches of the world and witness to suffering and atrocities, how are they helping people and coping themselves? 

To find out, Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, meets them.

Here, you will discover extraordinary personal stories from people who devote their lives to helping others.

New tracks tagged #UN Deputy Secretary General