Last Saturday, 11th November, was a shining morning and memorable day to the graduates of Orotta College of Medicine and Health Sciences (OCMHS). It was the college’s second commencement since its establishment following the merger of the College of Health Sciences and the College of Medicine and Dentistry. Out of the 252 graduates, 51% were female. The growth in the enrollment of females in schools at all levels, including institutions of higher education, is a testament to the success of the government’s policy that promotes programs aimed at empowering women. We have talked to one of the 14 graduates that studied medicine, Dr. Nerjis, who graduated with distinction and stood first in her batch.
We congratulate you on your achievement. Please, introduce yourself and tell us about how you were raised.
Thank you. My name is Nerjis Jabir Ibrahim. I studied medicine for the past six years and am now graduating as a General Doctor.
My childhood was as ordinary as any Eritrean child’s, nothing more. I was born in 1998 in Asmara. I am the second youngest daughter of my family. Thanks to my father and mother, I was an outstanding student and completed my elementary, junior, and secondary school (up to grade 11) winning prizes. Then I went to Sawa and completed my 12th grade in the year 2014 as a member of the 28th round. I scored a full mark, a grade point average (GPA) of 4, on my matriculation exam and joined Mai-Nefhi College for my Freshman year. After completing the Freshman courses with a GPA of 4, I chose Medicine to be my field of study and joined Orotta College of Medicine and Health Science.
Why did you study medicine?
It was my childhood dream. Whenever people asked me when I was child about what I wanted to be as a grown up, I would say “a doctor.” This grew into a passion and my childhood dream has eventually become true. I have come to know that what we intend in our childhood becomes our goal of life. And that was really what happened with me.
What do you think is the role of a family in raising an outstanding student?
Well, the role of a family in raising a good child is big and crucial. The first environment through which a child is introduced to this world is his home and his family. And his father and mother are the first models in his life. So, whatever they instill in him in his early age is built in his mind. Parents should help their child manage his time — when and how to study, when to have a leisure time and how to spend it – and how to engage in extracurricular activities. If they do these, their child will sure be outstanding.
What methods of studying were you using as a student?
I don’t have any specific study methods. But during my early age I was studying at home, and my big sister, who studied applied physics in college, was helping me a lot. Until I joined college I was studying at home after coming from school. But when I joined college, I was studying with my colleagues and my roommates. The college of medicine provides you with more practical teaching methods, which made it even much easier for me to study there.
How do you feel about your experience in Sawa?
The role of Sawa in one’s life is very big. You can take it as a life changing experience. It teaches you how to socialize and bond with others. The people you meet in Sawa come from all over the country and have different backgrounds, and this allows you to learn to respect others’ customs and norms and to live along with others. There you learn how to be fit and disciplined.
Higher education, like education at all the other levels, is free in Eritrea. How do you feel about this policy?
The government’s policy of providing education free of charge is pursued because education is seen as a right to every citizen irrespective of his origin and financial status. This allows all citizens to go to schools and learn. In other countries, one has to pay a lot of money to go to college, and the financially less fortunate stay at home in spite of their potential. But in our country, the only requirement is for you to have the devotion to learn. So, if our government and our people are paying for our education, we have an obligation to pay back by being loyal to serve our people without any reservation and build our nation.
Working as a doctor requires a lot of patience; how are you making yourself ready for this?
We have already been engaged in work, but I will do even more to help my people. That is my aim. I know being a doctor requires patience, a lot of patience. It also requires updating your knowledge every now and then as the world of science and medicine is always making progress real fast. But with all that I have I feel I am ready, and I will keep on working on it.
How do you feel about the sleepless nights that you had to achieve your goals?
Studying medicine is related with human life. So, when you are learning to be a doctor, you have to concentrate a lot. Especially when you reach third or fourth year, you are both learning and working, which means you don’t have enough time to study. So, you have to sacrifice the only free time you have, your bedtime. But as the saying goes, “there is no gain without pain.” If you want to achieve your goal you have to work hard.
Tell us some more about your college life.
The college has qualified and well-experienced local and foreign instructors, and the lessons we got were great. During practical time we were going to Orotta Hospital to see everything there. As Orotta is a national referral hospital, patients with different types of ailments come from all over the country. With the knowledge and experience that we have, we can go on our own and work anywhere.
How many external exams did you have?
We had three external exams. We had our first external exam when we completed second year. Then we had our 2nd exam on the 4th year and finally when we completed our studies after the 6th and final year. The external exams were administered by accredited experts. The first two exams were administered by experts from Sudan and the final one by experts from Ethiopia.
What is your message to the society, in general, and female students, in particular?
I would like to say to the society that the role of an educated mother in the community is crucial. If you teach the mother, you are teaching the whole community. An educated mother teaches her children at home and can have a career and financially support her family. When a girl is educated she can stand for her rights and play her role in fighting against the way women are treated in our society. She can change the mentality of the society by showing them that she can reach the top level of management and lead the country. This way she can be a role model in her society.
Thank you and congratulations on your achievement. We wish you all the best.