News release
Growing up in a poor village in the East African nation of Kenya, Valencia resident Ian Otinga recalls his family emphasizing the importance of helping the less fortunate despite having meager resources.
Now serving as an operating room nurse at the Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center, Otinga said that as a child he was inspired to want to make a difference in people’s lives when he grew up, and that marked the start of a life journey leading him to one day becoming a successful registered nurse in the United States.
Otinga recalled one particular event that left a mark on his aspiration to become a nurse. He remembers his distant cousin, a dentist, visiting from the city and helping inhabitants in his village of Kakamega who desperately needed dental care.
“He came every single weekend to provide needed dental services and helped people by giving them free care,” Otinga recalled in a news release from Kaiser during National Nurses Week, May 6-12. “That was a big moment of inspiration to me. He wasn’t getting paid, and he would still help people with their dental work to feel better and be healthier. Because of this, I told myself I wanted to go to school and gain a skill that would allow me to also give back.”
Admiring his distant cousin’s commitment to caring for the villagers was the beginning of a long journey that saw Otinga fulfill his dream of becoming a successful operating room nurse and establish himself in the United States as a nurse.
After committing himself to pursue a career in nursing following successful completion of elementary, middle and secondary education in Kenya, Otinga was encouraged by a friend to pursue a nursing degree in America, having heard of a great program in Kansas.
Needing little convincing, Otinga applied for admission into Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. To his delight, he was accepted on a student visa, arrived in America, studied diligently, and eventually graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
After graduating, Otinga worked at a Kansas hospital for about seven years before moving to California in 2017 as a traveling nurse. It didn’t take much for Otinga to fall in love with the Golden State and its people, and he decided to make California his home. Here, he became a U.S. citizen in 2020.
Today, as a registered nurse at West Los Angeles Medical Center, Otinga says he’s living his dream in a career he loves.
Otinga says he lives by a simple rule when caring for his patients. “A friendly smile has always been the best way when interacting with my patients,” he said. “It helps them feel comfortable to share with me how they feel, and it allows us to give them the best care available.”
Even after achieving his life-long dream of being a nurse in the U.S., Otinga has not forgotten his African roots. He recently partnered with a nonprofit organization to perform free eye surgeries in his hometown in Kenya. He coordinated logistics, transportation, meals, medical permits, etc. He also assisted professional health care providers providing needed surgical-care-related urology, plastic surgery and vascular surgery.
“It aligns up with my dream that I had as a child when I wanted to give back to my community,” he said. “The people in the village are really appreciative because I’m one of them; I was born there. They’re very grateful.”
Today, Otinga says he’s thankful to be able to make a difference in people’s lives, fulfilling his childhood dream. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
