Real life stories

R.M. is 35 years old and is from the Republic of Cameroon, Douala. She now lives in Vâlcea and she came to Romania to study.

"Orphaned by both parents, I lost them at the age of 13. The one who raised me was my grandmother, but she also died 10 years after my parents died. I lived a difficult life during this period, when I had no one to support me, because, belonging to a family with four children and being the third born, my brothers were also too young to take care of me. I had to keep my dignity and strength of character, despite my young age, because I did not have to give up life for fear and hurt my dear grandmother’s feeling, as she was already old and in shock at the loss of her only child."

She did any activity that could help her survive and sometimes she helped her grandmother, who loved her so much. During the holidays she worked in the fields, with people she did not know, in exchange for small sums of money, part of which she gave to her grandparents, for food and products necessary for living. The food they bought allowed them to spend a few weeks in peace.
"After years, because I was determined to make a living, seeing my friends progress in school with the support of their parents, even though I was an orphan, I had decided to accept the bet to succeed too, refusing to be classified among the mediocre of my generation. I got my baccalaureate at the end of high school, at the age of 19. It was a huge joy both for me and for my whole family.
“All my classmates, as well as my friends, were already at university, a year before me. However, I had this unique goal to reach the same level of education as my friends.”

The desire to go to university obsessed her, although she did not have the means to access this institution. That's why, on a vacation, she went to an uncle, who lent her a sum of money.
"I started selling peanuts every day and I kept the profit for myself. After three months of vacation, I had managed to raise the amount of 90 thousand francs, approximately the amount of 500 lei in local money. Seeing this, my uncle decided to add the necessary amount to send me to university and talk to my brothers as well.”

For R.M., college life was not easy, especially since she was far from her grandmother, who overwhelmed her with affection and made her forget the pain of losing her mother.
"However, I didn’t despair. As a student, I used to sell peanuts and peanuts on campus, and sometimes textiles. Thus, I managed to finance the copying of my courses, without bothering my brothers and my uncle, who had many children at home.”

After three years of university, she was able to obtain a bachelor's degree in French, and two years later a master's degree in modern and contemporary literature. Again, the joy was immense for the whole family. This period coincided with the death of her grandmother, a very sad event. Succeeding in overcoming this pain, she decided to embark on an active life.
"Either I was participating in a contest or I was looking for something to work on. Eventually, I got a job as a commercial worker at MTN, where I worked for four years. In the last year, while working at this company, I managed to enter the Teacher-Training School for general education through a competition. After a year, I was able to teach preschool groups. After six years in education, I was inspired by the desire to go further, because during this time I had given birth to a girl and two twin boys, thus becoming responsible.”

But as she is a persevering woman, she decided not to stop here, but to move on. Hence the idea of embarking on a trip to Romania.
“Despite being almost 40 years old, the Lord allowed me to reach the lands of Romania. My desire today is to achieve my goals and dreams. Finally, I want to give a new meaning to my life and family by finishing the nursing school for which I came.”