Relindis Akwanga

I was born in 1990 and raised in Bechati, a tiny village in the South West region of Cameroon in Africa. Healthcare resources were very limited in Bechati, and I was always sick during my childhood years. When I was 13 years old, I was so ill and near death, but the community health center in Bechati was not adequate to provide the care needed for my healing and recovery, which led to a lot of suffering for me. Thank goodness I survived the illness and from this point in my life; I developed the dream and passion of becoming a healthcare provider when I grow up so I can offer health services to people who need quality healthcare to alleviate suffering and improve the quality of life. In Bechati, the education of a girl child was not encouraged. Girls were meant to get married, and boys could go to school. Educating girls was still seen as a taboo, but due to my determination, my dad decided to support me to acquire my education and fulfill my dream. It was challenging for me being a girl and going to school. I met my husband during my high school years, and after obtaining my high school diploma in 2008, I decided to pursue a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree at the University of Buea, South West Region, Cameroon. My husband and I got married in 2009 after my first year at the University of Buea. My husband was based in the United States of America (USA), but he chose to let me finish my degree in Buea before joining him in the USA. In 2011, I came to the USA for the first time to visit my husband during my summer break from school, it was a brief visit for just two weeks, but at the end of those two weeks, I went back to Cameroon pregnant with our first son. Being in a nursing program pregnant was more challenging, but determination carried me through, and I completed my BSN in 2012 and moved to the USA. My dream did not die; I proceeded to take the NCLEX-RN exam and obtained my registered nurse license and have worked as a registered nurse in long term care and now serving as a supervisor in an inpatient psychiatric hospital. Because of the passion for providing quality care and improving patient's quality of life, I am enrolled in the master in clinical nurse leadership program at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi. I aspire to obtain a post-master certification in Family nurse practitioner (FNP) and a doctor of nursing practice (DNP), specialize in psychiatric nursing after my DNP and open up my practice. I also dream of someday, going back to Bechati village to give back to my community by opening an excellent healthcare facility that will offer affordable health services to improve the quality of life of the indigenes of Bechati village. I am also passionate about encouraging and promoting the education of the girl child in Bechati. I recently created a Facebook page called "Bachata Female Students Association (BEFSA)" that focuses on promoting and encouraging Bechati people to send their female children to school as well as helping Bechati girls to be determined in pursuing their education and dreams.