By: Shane Marks
Farida Deepa, an aspiring doctor, was born and raised in Bangladesh and grew up with her mother, father, and brother. Her family was fairly accomplished, owning several business ventures in the community in which they lived; providing an honest means of income for the family.
Growing up, Farida always wanted to work in the medical profession, with a keen focus on dental care. After completing a dental technician course in Bangladesh, Farida was given the opportunity to study in Russia, at one of their premier medical institutes. This was when tragedy struck.
Just an inch into the first semester of her studies, she received a call from home, bearing bad news. Her mother had been diagnosed with blood cancer and her health was slowly languishing. With the need to be near her mother in her time of sickness, Farida flew back home from Russia. To her dismay, her mother soon succumbed to cancer.
Having to start all over again; Farida did not know what to do next. But as faith would have it, she got the opportunity, upon advisory from one of the administrators from the Russian medical institute, to study at Texila American University in Guyana.
Over the moon that her life was somewhat getting back on track, Farida, with the encouragement of her older brother, packed the things she needed and left for Guyana.
Once again in a new country, thousands of miles away from her family, the memories of her mother locked away in her heart, Farida was ready to take on a new journey. With a partial scholarship and financial aid from her family back home, things were coming around for young Farida.
Halfway through her first semester at Texila American University, she received yet another call bearing bad news from home. It was her brother; he had gotten a stroke and at the time was currently being monitored by doctors and nurses in the hospital. At this time, Farida related that she had told her sister-in-law that she was going to fly back, that her studies didn’t matter. And she would’ve flown back home, if not for her brother.
Farida called him one day, and in a low, lifeless voice, he told her not to come home. He wanted her to stay, to continue her studies. She had already given up the opportunity to continue her studies in Russia due to her mother’s diagnosis, he wasn’t going to do the same for her.
Reluctantly, Farida agreed to stay in Guyana to continue her studies. But with her brother having to seek medical attention for his condition back home and her having to pay for her education, there was not enough money in the family to go around to fund both situations.
In the end, as Guyanese would say, Farida was left with the short end of the stick. Her family could no longer afford to pay her tuition. Farida was left at what seemed like a dead-end, this time, no one was there to guide her to the light.
She told this publication in an interview that she decided to get a job so she could afford basic amenities. She found employment at a Bangladeshi-owned hotel where she cleaned the rooms to make a living for herself.
However, Farida knew that there was no way she would be able to pay her tuition fee with a minimum wage job. She had to come up with another plan. With the help of an administrator at Texila American University, Farida wrote letters and sent them out to various organisations, seeking financial assistance.
She related that it took some time before she heard back from these organisations.
Assistance finally came
Then one day, Nazar Mohamed, the proprietor of Mohamed’s Enterprise reached out to her, offering his assistance.
Farida was elated. Things were finally going the way they were supposed to. Her brother had been discharged from the hospital and the burden of having to worry about tuition fees didn’t worry her anymore.
But life works in mysterious ways. Days before writing her exams, Farida fell ill and was admitted to the St Joseph Mercy Hospital. Her condition seemed to be the side effect of an accident she had gotten in a few years back.
On bed rest, Farida was determined to write her exams. And she did so in a state that was less than her best. In the medical room of the university, Farida took her exams and passed with flying colours. She started to volunteer her time to several organisation where she gets a stipend which she used to maintain herself.
Despite suffering from an illness that doctors cannot prognose, she was determined to write the Caribbean Medical exams. Again, she was successful and now awaits approval to start her internship.
Meanwhile, proprietor of Mohamed’s Enterprise, Nazar Mohamed said that when he saw Farida, he saw a sense of urgency in her. He saw that she was destined for greatness.
“I saw in her this ability. I saw in her this urgency to improve her life, and I said, “Okay, I’ll assist you”. I took care of all of her tuition fees for five years. But what impressed me about Farida is that she never took a cent for accommodation. She worked.
“She never accepted a cent, and that was really amazing. She worked hard. She worked, she studied. And by the permission of almighty God, when she wrote her exams, she was very successful,” Mohamed said.
Mohamed stated that Farida has so much gratitude towards him that sometimes he would have to remind her that he was willing to help her because she deserved it. In fact, Farida said that she thinks of Mohamed as a father figure because of all that he’s done for her.
She is grateful to both senior sisters, at the St. Antieana (St. Barnadett’s in-charge) and St. Ann who took care of her during her illness. She further added that it was very difficult to get a chance to attend CAMC exam as a Bangladeshi but after a long wait, she got the opportunity and as such, she was the first Bangladeshi who was registered as a doctor at CAMC.
Mohamed also attended Farida’s graduation ceremony. This young resilient woman will soon start her internship at a hospital in Guyana as she stated that she needs to give back to the country that has given her so much. The aspiring doctor hopes to one day return to her native country.
