WHEN 22-year-old Richard Dekoa Ninkama walked up to receive his Bachelor of Physiotherapy degree this week, he carried with him more than just four years of hard work.
He carried the memory of two women who shaped his life — his mother and the grandmother who helped raise him.
Ninkama lost his father when he was just 11. Since then, it was his mother, Makareta Lewaquto, and his grandmother who became the pillars of his childhood.
“It’s always been my mum and my grandmum,” he said.
“I would have loved for my grandmother to be here today, but she passed away last year. She died the day before school ended last year.”
But as the new academic year began, Richard pushed forward, telling himself she would have wanted him to continue.
“I knew she would have been proud of me.
“Our loved ones want us to keep going. I’m glad I could achieve this today because I know she would have been happy for me.”
Ninkama describes himself as someone who has always believed in hard work and self-confidence, although he admits these past years tested every part of him.
Today, surrounded by his mother and siblings, he marks the beginning of what he hopes will be a long career of service and healing as a physiotherapist.
“Maybe academics isn’t for you. You could be good at sports, or business, or social media — anything,” he said.
“Just work hard and believe in yourself. That’s the main thing.”
Ninkama also paid tribute to the lecturers who guided him through the program.
For him, graduation is not just a milestone — it is a promise fulfilled to the woman who raised him, a tribute to resilience, and the beginning of a future he is ready to chase.
