Roughiatou Ngaide BY TAMANI LUCY THOMPSON Born in Mauritania, Africa’s eleventh largest sovereign, Roughiatou “Rougie” Ngaide is an achiever. She proudly shares that she was raised among the Fluana tribe. Unlike her peers, she did not dream of coming to America. She did not fantasize of what life would be like in the “home of the free.” Instead, she was proud of her country and, most of all, her father’s accomplishments. She admired his leadership, his love for Allah, and how he was the voice for her people. She followed in his footsteps and learned to be an activist. Rougie developed a desire to help her people. She accredited it to her father’s emphasis on loving thy neighbor. Rougie says that her father always reminded her that “Islam is about service, not just praying and mosque.” Those in her household understood that the family had an obligation to serve God, country and people, and she vowed to do just that. Unfortunately, at the tender age of thirteen, Rougie’s father passed unexpectantly and her mother, both young and uneducated, became the sole provided for her and her twelve siblings. This made Rougie even more determined to equip herself with the knowledge and resources to better her people’s quality of life. She pursued her education and earned her master’s degree in public international law. While in school, she got married. She was very devoted to her husband and strove to be the best wife to him. When her husband wanted to move to the United States, she felt that was her duty as his wife to do so. So Rougie packed up and left behind all that was familiar to her, along with her passion for advocating for the Mauritanian people and serving her family. From the first day in the United States, Rougie recalls feeling uneasy — she was homesick. “I had a terrible longing to be back home. Anxiety…depression… helplessness,” Rouge says. Though she was fluent in six languages, English was not among them. Her struggle to communicate disqualified her for leadership roles that she was accustomed to holding in her motherland; in Africa, she was a lawyer, an activist, a human rights educator and employee of a nonprofit focused on gender issues and youth empowerment. Despite this, she could the find meaningless jobs that fell way short of her qualifications. In 2009, Rougie had improved her knowledge of the English language. And, it was during this time that her marriage took a turn for the worst. She shares that her husband was no longer the loving father and husband he once was. He neglected his promised role as the provider and protector. Rougie states that he was fighting with his own demons and decided to stop working. He lacked any desire to seek employment, and she was left as the sole breadwinner. Rougie says her self-image was wounded, but she managed to hide her true disappointment. She describes herself as a victim of financial abuse and it became difficult for her to continue supporting her family back in Africa — a vital expectation by all immigrants in order to maintain a safety net. ENVISIONPROVENSUCCESS.COM | 7
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