My journey to this moment started in ways I couldn’t have imagined at 12 years old, standing beside my father’s grave.

My mother became my first teacher in resilience. A teacher by profession, she raised us on a “meagre salary,” as I’ve written. But what I learned from her wasn’t just about surviving hardship. It was about refusing to let hardship define the ceiling of your aspirations.

“If you set out to do something, there was no point doing it badly or only reaching halfway.”

Those words echoed through my schooling at Lenana, where the motto Nihil Praetor Optimum – Nothing but the best – reinforced what my mother had planted. The Chandaria Foundation gave me form 5-6 education when I couldn’t afford it. The Reuters Foundation funded my first medical school years. A government scholarship covered my final year when I was working three jobs to make ends meet.

Each scholarship came with an invisible contract: pass it forward.

This is why Mwanga Mpya exists.

Not because I have it all figured out. But because I know what it’s like to realize at 40 that you’ve been living at a fraction of your capacity. And I know that transformation is possible – not through motivational speeches, but through honest self-examination, selective excellence, and refusing to settle.

I’ve learned that leadership isn’t about individual heroics. It’s about building systems that outlast you. Not just being excellent yourself, but creating conditions where others can reach their excellence too.

When I transformed KNH’s orthopaedics department from a general unit into seven subspecialty units, the results weren’t just in the numbers (though a 25% increase in surgical output and 30% limb-salvage rate matter). The real transformation was in what became possible: surgeons developing deep expertise, patients receiving specialized care, residents getting world-class training, and a model that other hospitals could replicate.

Systems endure. Individual excellence fades.

Nelson Mandela wrote: “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

That quote has served as my guiding beacon. But for years, I misunderstood it. I thought it meant: work harder, achieve more, climb higher.

What it actually means: stop betraying your own capacity.

When you’re capable of building systems but only maintain existing ones… When you’re capable of pioneering innovations but stick to proven methods… When you’re capable of transforming your field but settle for incremental improvements… You’re not being humble. You’re playing small.

And if you’re one of the most capable people in your field, and you’re playing small, who does that serve?

Mwanga Mpya – A New Light – is my answer to that question.

It’s a 12-month leadership development program for African leaders who’ve been living beneath their potential. Not because they lack skills or intelligence, but because they’ve been rewarded for playing it safe.

Not motivational speeches. Not quick fixes. Not another certificate to hang on the wall.

Real transformation through selective excellence: choosing your higher peak, pouring everything into that climb, and building systems that multiply your impact long after you’re gone.

If you recognize yourself in this story – if you’ve been playing small and you’re ready to reach for what you’re actually capable of – then perhaps it’s time for your own awakening.