Currently on tour in India, Anna Qabale Duba from Marsabit County in Kenya, winner of the first Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award, hopes that she can inspire nurses in India to share their stories on international platforms like the next Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award, the entries for which are open now
Nursing is a noble profession, and it takes immense dedication to be in the field. India is probably the only country in the world that churns out so many nursing professionals. Like it or not, the pandemic has shown the world what a nurse can do. I have heard so many stories from India during the Covid times and so I am here to inspire and motivate them to share their stories for the second edition of Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award. (www.asterguardians.com)
Through this visit to India and my interaction with Indian nurses, I realise there is a lot of common ground between us. We all seem to come from humble and lower-middle-class backgrounds but there is an undying spirit to serve the profession. The aspirations are high and the passion to excel in the field and outside is commendable. Through my interactions, I hope I have inspired the nurses to step out and talk about their stories.
Very much like any Indian nurse, even my beginnings have been modest. I thank God for the opportunities given and the ability to take the right decisions because it has been those decisions that opened doors for me. And one such event has been participating and winning the Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award. In the first year itself, Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award has been recognised and applauded by the medical fraternity and public across the globe and this year the awards are moving to London for its second edition. For any nurse, what more could be an ideal location than London to share their stories as it is the headquarters of the Commonwealth and home to NHS – National Health Service.
When I look back at the chain of events that I have experienced in life, all seems like an ‘Act of God’. I was born to parents belonging to a pastoralist community from Marsabit County in Kenya that borders Ethiopia.
During those times, just two or three decades back, girls were not sent to school. Marriage proposals would start coming in as soon as a girl attains puberty. Like my other elder siblings, I had kind of resigned to fate that I too would be married off at the age of 14-15 and then my life would also just be like my sisters and other females of the society. But that was not to be. My parents decided to send me to school for basic education. I considered myself lucky unlike my sisters because I was the only girl child pursuing education. Even though my marriage was fixed at the age of 14, my mother helped me escape the societal clutches and convinced my father that I should continue education and thus I went on to become the first girl graduate from my village and also the only girl educated of the 19 siblings.
The moment I broke the shackles of child marriage, I never looked back. In our system, we have elementary and secondary school till Grade 8, followed by high school. I completed nursing studies at an undergraduate level, and now, I’m finalising my Master’s degree in field epidemiology.
Why do I say my life has been a series of chances? When I was pursuing Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the Kenya Methodist University in 2011-2012, there was a nationwide competition where women were invited from every county in Kenya to compete. Since I was good in academics, debates, and public speaking, my friends asked me to give it a try. Although I was confident in myself, I had never thought I would win. I won two out of 4 and made it to second place. I won the Miss Tourism title. That gave me confidence. Then in 2019 I went on win the Global Citizen Award in New York.
While at the university, I had become part of a group that launched campaigns against female genital mutilation and early marriage. Then in 2014, I started Qabale Duba Foundation – a community organisation that champions the right of girls and women in northern Kenya. The foundation aims to promote the development of pastoralist communities by facilitating their access to education, health, social services, and economic empowerment.
It is this work at Qabale Foundation that the jury at Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award appreciated and with the support from the people of Africa, I won the title. I would like to thank the County Government of Marsabit department of health for giving me a conducive working environment where I could practice Nursing and also my community work. For somebody like me coming from a meagre background, $250000 was a huge prize money, something beyond my imagination. From one classroom of 4 students made of tin sheets to a 40,000 square metres of land to build a school with grades one to eight, life has been truly rewarding for me. I also thank the Government of Kenya for recently recognising me as a Hero on Mashujaa day when Kenyans usually celebrate it’s Heroes.
It is an honour to be able to share one’s path with the world, and I sincerely wish to motivate more individuals to become nurses and give back to their communities. As nurses, we have the chance to heal our patients’ hearts, minds, and bodies. I encourage nurses around the world to utilise the opportunity presented by Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award to share their amazing stories with the world. The award of USD 250,000 will empower the winner to turn their dreams into a reality. I hope every nurse in India registers for the next Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award 2023 (www.asterguardians.com), the entries for which are open now.
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