Date: Thursday, 28 September 2017
| Thursday, 28 September 2017 01:54 | |
Young and full of passions. There is almost nothing that this young lady is not passionate about: Eritrea, Eritreans, youth, students, education, sports, her dreams and her newly established family. Age 25, very active in her studies, Liwam is an urn of burning passions. Many of which make her a stunningly interesting young lady.
Noting this, the former high school of CGHU, made sure Liwam’s journey in their school was memorable when they started an award for Student of the Year just so Liwam would find at least one –out of the many others, a fitting award before left for college. She earned a degree in Management from Halhale College of Business and Economics in 2015.
Now serving her country and people, Liwam and her husband, are parents to their two gorgeous little girls. Q&A proudly introduces you today to a possible future events and wedding planner, Mrs. Liwam Teumezghi
I was born in Eritrea in 1992 but left for Australia when I was young. I stayed there for a couple of years till I came back here and continued my elementary education. Later, I went to Kenya. The country has a vivid cultural diversity. It is also a place where many Eritreans live, which makes it different from many other foreign countries, so it was basically home away from home for me.
I went to an international school, CGHU Secondary School, which had many students of different nationalities. I was able to participate at different holidays with my school mates which allowed me to learn much about other cultures. My time in Kenya was pretty much interesting.
We were classified into categories; A students and A star students. And I am proud to say that I was straight “A star” student throughout my high school years. I managed to have fun in a way that I didn’t let my grades slip. I really enjoyed school, I enjoyed being in class and listening to the teacher. I also enjoyed the time that I set up for myself to go home and study. My school was important to me. I had to build a life for myself, I had this dream that I wasn’t going to be another woman who had to stay at home because she had to. I wanted options for myself. So, I decided that I had to be good at school to get my degrees. I was studying IGCSE which is an International British system, which can be tough sometimes, but I managed to be recognized as one of the best students that the school had.
The school that I went to honors students with trophies for prize winners not only for the 1st to 3rd prize winners but also for the best grades of a specific subject, unite wise. So I excelled in Mathematics, Biology, History, Geography, English, and IT. Basically I always had the highest grades in most units every year. At the same time, I was pretty much active in many activities. Besides, I used to be an athlete as well, I used to run short distance, relay, and track events. Again, our school used to classify us into four clubs. Each club participates in diverse contests such as debating, fashion shows, singing, athletics, and general knowledge. And at the end of the year, prizes were awarded to the winner club based on the highest marks of all the activities combined. At a certain point I was the head for one of the clubs. What I am proud of is that the club hadn’t won for several years before I was assigned. After I became the head of our club, we managed to win every event, which was an achievement for me personally. However, what I call my biggest moment was my school started a new honorary award in my name “Student of the year” while I was graduating.
When I came back here, I wanted to join college straight away because my grades were good for me to join. But since I came back at the end of the year I had to wait another nine months to do that. I wanted to use the time I had on my hands. I went there because I felt like it is something I had to do to feel complete as a person. Let me tell you, it was the best time of my life. There, I was disciplined and developed social skills. It is where I learned a lot about my culture and people. Sawa changes the perspective of life for the better for the youth. I enjoyed my time there from the first day.
I have always had a dream to be an architect. At the same time, I wanted a second degree in management. It is a department that teaches you to have a better life. It is a broad subject that deals with even the little things to bring out the best starting from the smaller enterprises to the biggest. How to achieve maximum incomes with minimum inputs. It teaches a person to have a good interpersonal skills which helps in dealing with the employees and how to do their jobs right. Since I like to organize things in certain ways, I really enjoyed the field. I felt really comfortable studying management.
I was also the vice chairwoman of the graduating committee. Which was a bit more challenging than what I had expected. But I am glad I did that. There is so much to learn on the business out there than the books we learned. There is the education you get from the books and from the real world. Because in the real world people don’t live by the book; people live by situations.
Yes I did. I did the Eri tour and enjoyed every part of Eritrea. I was short of two places on my tour, Nakfa and Assab, which is still on my list. But Nakfa, not only did I get to see it but I got to experience it during my cadre course with the 17th round. There was still a lot that I wanted to learn about the political history of Eritrea and how we came to be. I am very blessed to be Eritrean, it is nice to have come from such a country with deep and interesting story. I enjoyed my classes from the actual people who have been there to make history. It was also a privilege since very important people came to spend time with us to share their stories. But generally I travelled all over the country. And my favorite place would be keren. It is a beautiful breath taking city and the people are just friendly and sweet and always ready to assist you in any kind of way.
I think I am born with it. I hope everybody knows that it is a privilege to be Eritrean. For Eritreans the story we have makes us better than any other nationalities. We had to fight for what we have today. We had many colonials because we have something special. It is against all odds to have won with few materials and people, we had big courage. Our fathers and forefather paid their lives and part of their bodies so you and I can live peacefully today. They got that. And I hope that my kids would realize it too, and I am going to make sure of it.
Yes I am a mother to two beautiful daughters. Rora, which by the way I enjoyed naming my daughter one of the historical places of Sahl, and Aya. I couldn’t have chosen a better person to start a family with than Aymen Salahadin, my husband. I have always wanted to start a family here.
After teaching for a year at Sembel Secondary School, I was re-assigned at the head office of Segen Construction Company in the administration department. People can be a bit judgmental about leaving the kids and go to work, but I have to help my husband earn a living and raise our kids the best way we can. I am also grateful for my family and husband’s family for all their support. I have their unconditional encouragement in everything that I do. My dream doesn’t stop here. Someday, I want to start a wedding planning company which would be a big help in reducing the stress of the Eritrean brides. You know, when you are passionate about something, it doesn’t feel like it is a job. With the support of my husband and family I know that it is possible.
Lula Abraham, is one of my mother-in-lows. When I think about a strong woman, she is my model. She is a person who does everything a woman does besides getting things done a man does, but even better. She is a living example that a woman is everything or even better than a man is. My advice to all Eritrean women is that, they don’t have to underestimate themselves. They can achieve their dream besides raising a family. Let’s fight for our rights and we can achieve our goals.
