ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Take a deep breath, hold back the tears, wipe away the pain; no one prepared her for the mental fortitude it took to leave her family behind for a better life. This woman's story began in the heart of Biratnagar, Nepal, where the steady hum of daily life blends with the vibrant colors of Nepali culture.
Airman 1st Class Benja Rayamajhi, 97th Force Support Squadron career development technician, was raised in a modest household. She cherished the hustle and bustle of life with her family. Yet, beneath the surface of contentment, Rayamajhi nurtured dreams that seemed harder to obtain in her homeland.
“I was scared to come to the U.S.,” Rayamajhi explains. “But my family convinced me and told me that I need to do it to have a better future.”
In 2022, a plane touched down in the hills of Tucson, Arizona, and outwalked Rayamajhi.
“I couldn't believe it. Everywhere I looked there was cactus, cactus, cactus. Back home I could see Mount Everest from the top of my house and there were lots of trees, but here it is so open,” she exclaimed. ‘’And the hardest part was the language barrier, but as time went by I started learning and getting used to the culture.”
More than the language barrier, though, Rayamajhi explained how painful it was to leave her daughter, Wadnija, with her family, while she built a better life for her baby girl in the States.
“Before leaving for the U.S., I decided to have my daughter in Nepal,” Rayamajhi confided with tearful eyes. “My mom helped me raise her. When I had to come to the U.S., leaving her in Nepal was the hardest thing I've done and was very stressful. I miss her so much.”
Rayamajhi wanted to put her business degree to work when she arrived but was denied jobs due to a lack of work experience in the U.S.
“I just told them, ‘that’s fine’ and went to go find some experience,” she said. “I worked as a cashier at a restaurant and I realized that it wasn't working for me. So one day, I walked into an Air Force recruitment office, and after talking for a little bit, I told him, ‘Yeah. Let’s do it!’ and the next thing I knew I was on my way to basic training.”
Joining the Air Force marked a chapter in Rayamajhi's journey: an opportunity to serve her new country while being one step closer to bringing her family to the U.S.
Amidst her time in the service, her heart yearned for her daughter.
“It was so hard for the first few months,” she explained with tear-flooded eyes and flushed cheeks. “She used to look for me and she knew that her mom wasn’t around anymore. I hope one day she will be proud of me.”
Rayamajhi knew that every move she made in the U.S. was one step closer to getting her daughter back.
“I never thought of applying for citizenship when I joined the military,” she expressed. “But when I heard that I could, I brought it up to my chain of command and started the long process.”
As she prepared for her citizenship ceremony in Oklahoma City, with her support team right behind her, Rayamajhi knew that her journey was a testament to the enduring power of her hope and perseverance.
“I had my team with me, cheering and calling my name,” she reminisced. “I felt overwhelmed when my name was announced by the presenter, but I finally felt like a United States citizen.”
Rayamajhi felt a sense of sadness as she realized she no longer belonged to her home country, but most of all felt accomplished.
“Have patience and think positive,” she reminds herself. “Remember that you have family and one day they will be with you, and it will all be worth it.”