As Sunday marks World Health Day, Sputnik Africa spoke to a princess from Gabon who came to Russia to study to be a doctor and decided to stay to discuss the difference in healthcare systems and her experience about changing location.
Russia “has become a second home for me,” Gouandegno Ngongwè Suzy Naomie, a Gabonese princess who came to Moscow to study medicine and stayed in Russia to work, told Sputnik Africa.
She came to Moscow in 2008 to study medicine at Sechenov University, and now this descendant of the Mpongwe clan chief has settled in the south of the country, working as an endocrinologist at a private clinic in Sochi.
“I can say that Russia has become a second home for me […]. I came to Russia when I was 20, I got married here, I had my first child here, so I also have a great history with Russia […]. So I am a Gabonese with Russian citizenship,” Gouandegno Ngongwè Suzy Naomie explained.
Gouandegno Ngongwè Suzy Naomie
© Sputnik . Gouandegno Ngongwè Suzy Naomie
She revealed that she decided to become a doctor at her father’s suggestion and chose her specialty – endocrinology – on her own, which got “more interesting.” The princess chose Russia to study medicine because tuition is cheaper than in Western countries and the registration process is easier.
When asked about the difference between the Russian and Gabonese healthcare systems, she shared her personal story: her son, who has been diagnosed with autism, requires special care.
“In Gabon, there aren’t really any specialized structures to help children like this […]. I think Russia can give him a lot more than if I go back to Gabon with him,” the doctor pointed out.
Gouandegno Ngongwè Suzy Naomie
© Sputnik . Gouandegno Ngongwè Suzy Naomie
In her opinion, Russia could certainly contribute to health care in Africa. However, Gabon’s infrastructure is inherited from the French colonial period, which would make assistance a difficult diplomatic task for Moscow, the doctor added.
“If Russia had to intervene or help structures in Gabon, it would be quite difficult diplomacy,” Gouandegno Ngongwè Suzy Naomie stressed. “But of course, if Russia wants to help, it can help, but it will be very difficult because diplomacy is complicated because this is a post-colonial area.
In addition to medicine, the young woman built her career in the beauty world. Her debut took place during her stay in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.
“I participated in my first beauty contest, then in the second. And that was the end of it. And I started getting more and more contracts for photo shoots with different couturiers, designers from different boutiques. Even though I’m in the fashion business, I still work in medicine,” she remarked.
Gouandegno Ngongwè Suzy Naomie
© Sputnik . Gouandegno Ngongwè Suzy Naomie
Beauty is not her only passion – in the coming days, Gouandegno Ngongwè Suzy Naomie will release her autobiographical book “A Gabonese Woman in Siberia” about her journey from Gabon to Russia.
