---
title: "A Week of Highs and Lows | Soumya Goel"
url: https://soumyagoel.com/journal/week_of_highs_and_lows
author: Soumya Goel
published: 2026-02-02
updated: 2026-07-30
language: en
---

# A Week of Highs and Lows

Reflection. February 2, 2026. 2 min read.

![Soumya Goel taking a selfie with partners at a community health camp in Lagos](https://soumyagoel.com/images/week_of_highs_and_lows_1.jpeg)

What a week. The last 6 days have been a whirlwind of extreme highs and challenging lows. Here is the reality of the groundwork:

## Community & Connection

I had the honor of attending the Republic Day event, followed by an intimate dinner at the High Commission of India in Nigeria. Sitting down with these 20 leaders, our conversation focused on a singular, critical question: What more can we do for the Indian community here? It was a powerful reminder of the strength of our diaspora and the work still to be done.

## On the Ground Leadership

I toured every single hospital in our network this week. My goal wasn't just to inspect facilities, but to find the gaps that data doesn't show. I interacted with every team member I could find. We identified challenges, but more importantly, we reignited the motivation to solve them. Real leadership happens in the corridors, not just the boardrooms.

## Community Impact

In partnership with the Advanced Youth Initiative and the Rotary Club of Ikoyi, we conducted a health camp on Saturday, delivering 150 free screenings. The results were a massive wake-up call: 45 out of the 150 people screened presented with major abnormalities. Seeing that 30% of the attendees had underlying issues was a jarring reminder of the silent health crisis many face and why preventive healthcare accessibility is non-negotiable.

We often only talk about our highlights, but the reality is tougher. This week, I faced two scary experiences that were extremely difficult to navigate as a girl in Nigeria. It was a harsh reminder of the environment we operate in, but also a testament to the resilience required to get the job done.

> Even with the fear and the fatigue, I’m energized to keep building here. The challenges are real, but there is so much potential, so much resilience, and so much work worth doing. Excited to be a part of Nigeria’s (and Africa’s) growth story.

![Volunteers and partners at the free eye screening camp](https://soumyagoel.com/images/week_of_highs_and_lows_2.jpeg)

![The Skipper Eye-Q mobile eye clinic at the community health camp](https://soumyagoel.com/images/week_of_highs_and_lows_3.jpeg)

Thanks for reading.

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From the journal of Soumya Goel: https://soumyagoel.com/#journal