Bernie Borges [00:00:00]:
Hello, my midlife friend. This is Bernie Borges, your host to the Midlife Fulfilled Podcast. And this is episode 133, a takeaway episode from episode 132, my conversation with doctor Giuliana Oteano. As a reminder, my takeaway Episodes are not a replacement for the entire conversation. If you have not listened to episode 132, I strongly suggest that you pause this And go back and give that previous episode a listen first. Listen to my full conversation with doctor Giuliana Oteano. Now before I get to my 1 takeaway that I wanna cover with you, I’m gonna recap 3 key points that we discussed on episode 132. Point number 1, the importance of education.
Bernie Borges [00:00:50]:
Doctor Oteyana was given an opportunity to attend high school in Kenya because her mother raised funds from the local community. She was the firstborn of 16 children, and her parents who were sugarcane farmers couldn’t afford to send her to secondary school. Now she explains that in her community, Girls are not highly regarded without an education. However, girls with an education are treated with respect, and they’re offered opportunities to be contributors to their community in ways that they would not otherwise have had without an education. In high school, her chemistry teacher recognized her potential and suggested that she apply to study medicine to become a doctor. I wonder if her chemistry teacher knows how many lives he impacted by showing confidence in Giuliana Otieno to become a doctor since she became a pediatrician and became a pillar in Kenya’s medical community. Number 2, a desire to give back to her community. Doctor Giuliana Oteano is fully cognizant of the blessing that she received by having the opportunity to go to high school, not to mention to be recommended by her chemistry teacher, as I mentioned, to study medicine.
Bernie Borges [00:02:13]:
Throughout her career as a pediatrician in Kenya. She has had the intention and the heartfelt desire to give back to her community, and she has done so for a long, long time. Point number 3, the power of the ILI cohort relationships. When doctor Giuliano Oteno retired in 2018 from practicing as a pediatrician, a friend of hers suggested that she check out the ILI program at Notre Dame. ILI is the inspired leadership initiative program at Notre Dame. So she did, and she realized that it would be a great opportunity to attend a leadership centric program that could help her discover her next chapter in life. As I mentioned, she was already retired from practicing medicine and from being the CEO of a hospital in her community. But she still had the burning desire to do something of significance above and beyond lecturing at a local teaching hospital, which she was currently doing.
Bernie Borges [00:03:15]:
And this is where I wanna land for my takeaway episode. When doctor Giuliana Oteno committed to attending the ILI program, She looked forward to meeting new people and even attending classes again. What she experienced was much more than what she probably anticipated. She had laid the groundwork in Kenya for a program to help economically disadvantaged girls get a high school education. When she told her fellows in her cohort at ILI about what she had started back in Kenya. What happened next was a miracle. Even after a lifetime of education, she realized that she had more that she could learn. Through the ILI program, she attended an international development class at the undergraduate level at Notre Dame.
Bernie Borges [00:04:07]:
Through this class, she learned to register her program in Kenya as a nongovernmental organization. She also learned that doing this would make it easier to set up a five zero one c three in the US, which is exactly what she did. But she didn’t do this alone. No. She had Significant assistance from her new friends in her cohort at the ILI program. 1 by 1, as she spoke with people in her cohort, She recruited individuals to join her team. Soon enough, she had a president and a full fledged board. She had much assistance with the details of setting up her Resalia Resource Foundation, which provides high school education for girls in Kenya.
Bernie Borges [00:04:58]:
She knows firsthand through her own experience that a high school education can have a profound impact on girls in Kenya both in terms of their economic and life trajectories. Girls who receive a secondary education are more likely to secure better paying jobs, contribute to the economy and support their families. They’re also more likely to delay marriage and childbirth, which can improve their health and increase their earning potential over time. Additionally, educated women in Kenya are more likely to invest in their children’s education and provide a better quality of life for their families. By investing in the education of girls in Kenya, the Resalia Resource Foundation can help break the a cycle of poverty and inequality, empowering these girls to become agents of positive change in their communities and beyond. Doctor Giuliana Oteano has always been giving back to her community in several ways including being accessible to young doctors as a mentor and as I mentioned as a lecturer at a local hospital. But The Resaglia Resource Foundation is a vehicle that has potential to impact millions of people. Now if you think I’m exaggerating, think again.
Bernie Borges [00:06:22]:
Prior to this foundation, doctor Giuliana Oteno had already impacted countless people. I mean, she was the sole pediatrician at a hospital serving 5,000,000 people. How many families did she touch in her 20 plus years as a pediatrician. Those families could multiply and grow because of doctor Giuliana Oteino’s care. But as a pediatrician, doctor Oteano realized that she could only impact people while she’s alive. But through her Resaglia Resource Foundation, she could potentially impact families for generations to come. Hey. I’m sure you’ve heard the cliche.
Bernie Borges [00:07:06]:
When you cut open an apple, you can count the number of seeds in that apple, but you’ll never know how many future apples are in those seeds. This is exactly what doctor Giuliano Oteano has set up through the Resaglia Resource Foundation. So here’s my challenge to you. No. It’s not to go set up a foundation unless that’s your true calling, of course. In that case, do it. Now my challenge is, what are you dreaming in your legacy fulfillment? Are you collaborating with others to help you with your dream, or are you going it alone? My challenge to you is don’t go it alone. Whether it pertains to your legacy fulfillment or any other aspect of your midlife fulfillment journey, don’t go it alone.
Bernie Borges [00:07:56]:
When we do life with other people who share our passion about something, the multiplication factor can be so profound as we’ve seen in doctor Giuliano Oteano’s story. I mean, it can exceed our wildest dreams And this is exactly what doctor Oteano experienced when she attended the ILI program at Notre Dame. She met a group of people, none of whom where from her home country in Kenya. And they were so moved by her vision that they offered to walk alongside her and provide Such valuable assistance that allowed the Resalea Resource Foundation to become a reality. My midlife friend, don’t go it alone. We are meant to do life with each other. Hey. I wanna shift gears.
Bernie Borges [00:08:46]:
I wanna give a shout out to Emily Turner. Emily is the associate director at the Inspire Leadership Initiative at Notre Dame. I’ve worked with Emily very closely over the past 5 immersive storytelling episodes. Emily was so diligent in identifying and lining up the interviews with each of the 5 ILI alum that we featured on the podcast. Emily also arranged for us to film episode one thirty two with doctor Giuliana Oteno at ND Studios on campus at Notre Dame during my visit at the ILI speaker series. In fact, if you listen carefully to episode 132, you’ll hear doctor Dear OTNO refer to Emily once who was sitting just a few feet away from her during the recording. Thank you, Emily, for all that you’ve done to make this experience so enjoyable and so smooth. And of course, I’m grateful to doctor Giuliana Oteano for agreeing to share her story on the Midlife Fulfill podcast.
Bernie Borges [00:09:52]:
My life is enriched by this experience meeting her and recording this conversation on the podcast, and I wish her continued blessings. Hey. I wanna remind you that you can Watch my recording on video with doctor Giuliano Oteano on episode 132 on my YouTube channel. And that, of course, is linked up in the show notes page for this episode. My next episode will feature Maureen Wiley Clough. Maureen is on a mission to abolish ageism in the workplace. She shares her own personal experience with ageism in the workplace and what she is doing to raise awareness about it and what we can all do about it. I think you’ll enjoy our conversation.
Bernie Borges [00:10:39]:
You know what time it is, my midlife friend? It’s that time when I remind you that if you’re 80% fulfilled, you’re doing great. And if you wanna know how I know this, listen to episode 100 where I explain this. I’ll see you on the next guest episode, episode 134 featuring Maureen Wiley Clough. I’ll see you then.
