Building career, love, life beyond borders

WHEN Dr Crecensia Mashauri accepted a job in Russia’s far north, she knew she was choosing a life far removed from Tanzania.

The freezing winters and limited daylight presented unfamiliar challenges, but the opportunity to serve patients in a place where she felt needed persuaded her to take the leap.

More than a decade after leaving Tanzania to pursue her medical career, Dr Mashauri has established herself as a family physician in Russia’s Murmansk Oblast.

Beyond her professional achievements, she has found love, built meaningful relationships and discovered a sense of belonging thousands of kilometres from home.

“I received numerous offers, but one day, the chief physician of a hospital in the Murmansk Oblast called me,” she said.

“She was incredibly kind and walked me through all the details. I felt a strong, intuitive sense that I was truly needed in that specific place.

So, I said yes.” She shared her experience during a panel session titled Adventures of Foreigners in Russia: Charmed and Stayed, held under the Media Stream Programme at the World Youth Festival.

After graduating from a university in Tambov, Dr Mashauri received several jobs offers. However, the opportunity to work in Russia’s far north captured her interest.

She began her journey in Kandalaksha, a historic port town on the White Sea, where she spent two years before moving to Polyarnye Zori, near the Kola Nuclear Power Plant.

Life in the Arctic challenged her expectations, particularly during winter, when temperatures fall sharply and daylight becomes scarce.

“Sometimes we get only three hours of daylight,” she said.

“But despite the freezing climate, the people here are incredibly warm-hearted, and we feel it in our hearts.” Through her work as a family physician, Dr Mashauri has developed close relationships with patients, discovering that compassion and understanding can bridge differences in nationality and culture.

One encounter, in particular, reinforced her belief in the importance of human connection in medicine. She recalled an elderly female patient who frequently complained that she was tired of living.

Repeated attempts to encourage the woman to remain positive failed to lift her spirits, prompting the doctor to try a different approach. “I kept trying standard medical encouragement, telling her she could easily live to be a hundred, but my words just weren’t getting through,” she said.

“One day, I decided to change my approach. I told her: ‘You know, I have a grandfather back in Tanzania, he is 89. Perhaps I could introduce the two of you?’” The suggestion immediately changed the patient’s mood. “For the first time, she burst into a bright smile and said, ‘Well, yes, why not!’” Dr Mashauri recalled.

The experience reminded her that caring for patients involves more than diagnosing illnesses and prescribing treatment. Building trust, listening and finding ways to connect with people can also make a meaningful difference.

“It showed me that no matter where you come from, and no matter the colour of your skin, if you find a way to truly connect with people, you can always find friends, against all odds,” she said.

Kandalaksha also brought an unexpected personal milestone. During her two years working there, Dr Mashauri met the man who would become her husband. He works as an engineer at the Kola Nuclear Power Plant, and the couple is preparing to marry, with plans to hold their wedding ceremony in Tanzania.

Finding love far from home has added another dimension to her experience of living abroad. She acknowledges that homesickness can make leaving one’s country difficult, particularly when f a m i l i a r surroundings and family sup – port are far away.

“Naturally, when you first arrive, you miss home terribly,” she said.

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“But when you have someone by your side to support you, you realise you can overcome any challenge.” Despite the distance, Dr Mashauri remains connected to Tanzania while embracing the life she has built in Russia.

After four years practising family medicine in the country’s northern regions, she hopes to advance her career by specialising in cardiology. She also wants to strengthen networks among African students studying medicine in Russia, helping them overcome isolation and build stronger relationships with Russian medical institutions.

“There are many African students here studying medicine. Sometimes we feel isolated in our studies and work. However, we have the power to support one another,” she said.

“By doing so, we can build a bridge and strengthen cooperation between African students and Russian medical universities.”

Her ambitions reflect a desire to keep growing professionally while helping others navigate life far from home.

Today, Dr Mashauri speaks warmly about the patients who have welcomed her and the relationships that have made the Arctic feel less distant.

Her journey demonstrates how professional commitment, openness and human connection can help someone build a meaningful life in an unfamiliar place.

“I absolutely adore my life, and I am definitely never leaving this place,” she said.

For a Tanzanian doctor who accepted an unexpected opportunity in Russia’s frozen north, those words capture a journey shaped by ambition, compassion and the courage to call somewhere new home.