Despite her experience with a few bad apples, Nouma is “really proud to be here,” even telling others not to take it for granted.
“I literally cried on the citizenship ceremony day,” she said.
Caregiving with a rare disease
Now that Nouma has established a life and career in Canada, she finds that the available supports, while still lacking, are much better at giving her the freedom to live her life as she desires within her limitations. Both her career and personal life are dedicated to helping others.
“I live with my mom and dad, who are both in their 70s,” she said, continuing, “They can help me throughout the day.”
“I take care of their specialty medical needs because they become a bit forgetful. I take care of all correspondence and bills. My mom and dad are not fluent in English, so they can speak it in conversation, but when it comes to paperwork (not so much). So, I am a caregiver also, which people don’t expect from a person in a wheelchair.”
She also acts as a caregiver in her professional life, but it’s not always easy to keep up with the demands of her life. She says that in Canada, she’s lucky to have access to programs, such as funding to hire personal caregivers for herself.
“The government gives you money, and you hire your attendants. It’s a lovely program because it allows flexibility, which we people who receive services from the agencies almost never have,” she said.