Epiphania Richard

My name is Nathasja van Leeuwen, born in the Netherlands in 1992. Since I was a little girl, I told everyone I knew that I wanted to work in Africa. I did not know why, after all, I had never been there. But for some reason, I was convinced that I was meant to be there. When I grew older, I tried to figure out the best way to reach my goal. That’s when I decided to study medicine. Not just because I was interested in how the human body works, but also because I thought that I could make a difference in Africa being a doctor. So, in high school I chose the right subjects and after graduating I applied for university. Unfortunately, my application was refused. Therefore, I turned to my plan B; taking a Bachelor’s degree in medical biology and then switch to medicine. Luckily, I managed to succeed this time.

For  my last medical internship I went to work in a small mission hospital in Tanzania for three months. Finally an opportunity to taste a little bit of the life of a tropical doctor! Within the first minute of setting foot in Tanzania, I fell in love with everything I could see. During this internship, I got to experience so many beautiful things, that I knew I had found my new home. There has not been a single day I wanted to go back to the Netherlands. Already during the internship, I applied for a job in the neighbouring hospital, St. Joseph Hospital in Kagondo. I went home to pick up my diploma and, finally a medical doctor, straight back to Tanzania to start my dream job.

During these three years I kept myself busy with many projects in the hospital. In order to improve patient care I collected money to buy a new portable ultrasound machine. And to increase safety and motivate staff I donated a solar system to make sure there is light 24 hours a day. I also managed to help with some hospital projects, run by the management itself. Such as repair of toilets, painting, et cetera. However, besides these projects inside the hospital, I also look for ways to help people in my environment. Together with my husband I started the Poor Patient Funds, which is a programm to help the poorest people get the right medical care, funded by donations. And we also look for children/adolescents who did not get a change to go to school or study. By various means we try to find a sponsor for them. So far we were able to help to high school boys (through private donations) and nursing students (through I-STEP-UP).

My dream of becoming a doctor in Africa has been fulfilled. It is now time for new dreams. And one of these is possible with help of I-STEP-UP. Together we can improve healthcare in Tanzania!