Snake bites and forced marriages will not block me from shining
Snake bites and forced marriages will not block me from shining! My goal is to become a computer scientist! My name is Nyiriak Galuak Deng, a young female of 21 years old. I am a third born in a family of 6 children. I am South Sudanese by birth. My journey started when I fled my hometown together with my family after a family conflict broke out. My uncle to my mother's side wanted to take us under his custody because my father had not yet settled mother's dowry. According to our culture that is something considered as a great sign of contempt and disrespect. The situation worsened when the war broke out between the Dinka and Nuer ethnicities. My village was raided, all livestock taken and houses burnt to the ground. This forced us out of our hometown to seek asylum elsewhere because we barely had anything to depend on. There was no safe place for us let alone where to be educated which we(my siblings and I) were desperately thirsty for. On the 29th July 2010 we arrived and settled in Kakuma refugee camp where we were registered under UNHCR agency. Settling in the camp and adapting to its unbearably harsh weather was not easy. I contacted malaria more times than I can remember and even witnessed some casualties of the scourge within the camp. Self consolation and resilience were the things I needed for survival. Language barrier hindered communication and socialization in general. After settling in the camp, I enrolled in Shambe Primary school and was admitted to class two because of the apparent age factor. I wasn't able to write and read well but with patience, dedication and hardwork I made a great improvement over time. In 2014 I transferred to Angelina Jolie primary school where my academic performance continued to rise. In 2016 I sat for my end of primary school national exams where I managed to attain 370/500 marks. I was thrilled by my performance but I knew there was a long way to go. I received a calling letter from Morneau Shepell secondary school. By then scholarships were limited due to budget cuts in the camp. Life in highschool was different from that in primary school. In my community most girls of my around were being prepared for marriage and that was a threat that was always looming at the back of my mind. Fortunately my parents supported my education and did not follow the norm of marrying me off at an early despite the pressure exerted on them by the community. They supported me throughout my secondary schooling and towards the end of my fourth form, Covid-19 pandemic hit the world with devastating effects especially for us here in the refugee camp. Schools were closed for many months and many girls some of them friends to me were married of by their parents. This left me very lonely and the constant threat of marriage was becoming very real especially when a cousin of mine was married. When schools were opened, I greatly thanked God and continued my studies though the number of girls in the school had greatly reduced. Being the best version of myself was another trait that shaped my success of being a leader and enabled me to stand out and shine brighter. I shared this ray of sunshine with the rest of my classmates. I shared knowledge with them in group discussion since we didn't have much time for revision after the pandemic. No sooner had the national exams neared than I was bitten by a snake on my left ankle one midnight after preps as I was entering the dormitory. My sharp scream of agony woke everyone and girls hurriedly came and killed the snake. I was taken to Clinic Seven hospital where I received treatment. I had to report still enduring the pain and inflammation but I could walk. I did my end of secondary school national exam while still enduring the pain but didn't want to use that situation as an excuse to embrace failure. I had to struggle. After two months the results were out and was able to attain a mean grade of B plain of 60 points. It was indeed a breakthrough that I was able to emerge as the best girl in the camp despite what I had undergone prior and during the exam. We all start our lives with dreams. Eventually, most people stop believing in those dreams and focus on what they can get rather than what they wanted to get. I won't give up on my dream which is to pursue computer science at the university and come back to my community to help vulnerable people who are faced with unspeakable challenges. Since completing my secondary schooling I have applied for and gotten a United Nation scholarship that permanently resettles people in Canada. As I wait to go chase my dreams I now inspire young girls that their dreams are valid.