The American Dream - Moise Banga, AMT

By Matt Ferrari

A while back I received a letter via email, it began with… “What could a regular young man from Cameroon have to do with airplanes, apart from dreaming of boarding one to get to the USA for greener pastures?”

Everyone has a story, a journey that he or she has followed to get to where they are right now, at this moment in time. We all have goals, dreams, and desires. We also have obstacles, real or imagined, that seem at times, to keep us from achieving our objectives, from reaching our highest potential and achieving the highest form of ourselves. We also have inside each of us, the power to make those dreams come true. Every once in a while, I meet someone who has a certain glow, an energy that surrounds them as they move about their day, a magnetic force that draws me toward them, that says “I want to know who you are.”

Moise Banga came into this world on June 24th, 1983. His life started in Douala, a coastal city located on the Gulf of Guinea in the Central African country of Cameroon. The youngest of eight children born to his mother Therese Marie Nkomideo Epsi Evina, he was the only one to survive past the age of twelve. Therese Marie, having left her marriage, set out on her own with young Moise with the determination to raise him well and the hope of one day sending him to America for a better life.

While growing up, Moise found himself interested in the game of basketball. As it turns out, he was gifted with a great talent for the game and worked hard to develop his skills. He gained notice and was recruited to play on some of the best national teams in Cameroon where he became one of the top players.

As Moise worked hard on his basketball, his mother worked hard never losing focus on her dream for a better life for her son. Saving all that she could and having sold most everything she owned, she raised enough to send Moise to the U.S.

Having made contact with an agent who promised, for a fee, that he could arrange for a student visa to the U.S., she was told that the visa would allow Moise to continue his education and play college basketball with the hopes of going pro. She paid her money and sent her son to America.

In June of 2009, Moise set out on his own. Arriving in New York full of hope and ambition for a bright future, he moved in with a family friend in Connecticut. His excitement was dampened a bit when he found that the “agent” who arranged for his student visa didn’t actually do as promised. The travel documents he provided for Moise was not a student visa and left Moise neither able to attend school nor able to legally work here. His mother worried from afar as he attempted to sort this mess out. In the meantime, he did odd jobs for cash to get by, always seeking a solution to the situation that he found himself in and looking for opportunities for a better life. During this time, he met a young lady named Cynthia.

Ultimately unable to get his student visa, in 2011 Moise set out for Louisiana with a friend, whose family lived there, with hopes of finding work and better times. Struggling along for a couple years, he decided it would be a good idea to head back to the Northeast. In early 2013, he set off for Maryland to be near Cynthia. That seemed to work out pretty well for him, as they were married shortly after he arrived in Baltimore. Cynthia came to our country in 2003, after her family fled from the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo and has become a Naturalized American Citizen. Ironically, Cynthia settled for a time in Cameroon, not far from Moise, before coming to the United States, but their paths never crossed. Through his marriage to Cynthia, Moise gained legal immigrant status. With the ability to legally work, Moise soon had two jobs, working hard to earn his way toward financial stability.

In 2014, a friend down in Louisiana proposed a business opportunity to Moise, where he could come to work at his tire shop. If things worked out, he would sell him part ownership in the business. So back to Louisiana they went. Moise worked hard at the tire business and in 2015, he and Cynthia welcomed to their family a son, born in June, they named him Basile.

The year 2016 brought much sadness to Moise when he lost his father after a long illness. Making the loss worse was the fact that he could not afford to go back to Cameroon for his dad’s burial.

Considering his options and constantly looking for ways to improve things for his family, Moise decided to leave the tire business and in 2017 he opened a cleaning business. He experienced success with the business for a while but in time things began to slow as contracts for work just didn’t come in.

In 2019, he went to work for Menzies, an aviation contractor, accepting a position as an aircraft fueler at the New Orleans International Airport. Between fueling operations, he would watch the airplanes takeoff and land. He was amazed with the magic that was taking place in front of his eyes, he couldn’t imagine what made them fly or how it was even possible that they left the ground and returned the way that they did! A curiosity was sparked and a desire to know was kicked into gear.

A few months later, he saw a job posting for a Ramp Agent with Delta Airlines. He applied and was hired for the position. He met a co-worker at Delta, a line mechanic, who Moise became friends with. He asked many questions and his friend patiently explained what made airplanes work. After a while, this friend saw something in Moise, something familiar, not just a passing curiosity in airplanes, but that the aviation bug had sunk its teeth deeply into Moise and he was bitten hard! The only way to satisfy this was to welcome him deeper into the aviation family. He suggested that Moise consider going to school, earn his A&P certificates and become an Aviation Maintenance Technician like he was. Moise met other aircraft mechanics who explained the process of becoming an AMT, cheered him on and encouraged him to go to school, assuring him that they would be there to help find him work once he finished.

Having considered this for a while, doing some research and with the encouragement of friends and family, Moise enrolled in the AMT program at the Baton Rouge Community College. Here he spent the next two years learning the trade and honing the required skills. All the while, he worked full time to support his family. A typical day would begin about six in the morning, start with the one-hour drive to school, a full day of academics and hands-on shop work, an hour drive to work, a full shift on the Delta ramp, followed by the drive home with the day often ending well past midnight. During his time at the BRCC, he found two instructors - turned mentors that took personal interest in his progress. Moise credits Mr. Dan Sillinger and Mr. Curtis Johnston for much of his success in the AMT program, saying “They played an immense role in my schooling journey, they never ceased to encourage me and remind me of the great potential that I have. They were there for me beyond the classroom. They became father figures to me, something that I went without for a good while. I can go on and on about them and the great and positive impact they’ve had on my career, and my life!” Moise also credits his success to the long-distance encouragement that he received from his mother, Therese Marie, who he said “was always on the phone from Cameroon, checking in on everything!” and his mother in-law, Nathalie Sakiovu, reaching out from the Congo. On those long days of school and work and the tired drive home to his wife, always waiting up for him, he found the strength needed to press on and persevere.

Picture in your mind the journey we’ve been on so far, following Moise from Cameroon, to his arrival in New York, a brief stop in Connecticut, a move to Louisiana, a move to Maryland, then back to Louisiana. All the hard work, the ups and the downs. Are you exhausted yet? Like the late-night TV ads say, “But wait, there’s more!”

Not only did Moise persevere, he excelled, and in a big way! In the spring of 2021, he Graduated with Honors with a GPA of 4.0, became a certified AMT, and was awarded Best Student of the BRCC Technical School 2021.

In June of 2021, he was able to file immigration papers for his mom and after twelve years apart, she arrived in the USA just before his birthday! A note about Moise’s mother, having never met but hearing much about her from Moise, I’d bet she’s the type of person that if you saw her walking toward you on the sidewalk and you squinted your eyes, and held your head just so, that you would see her surrounded by a golden glow, and in that glow you’d find perched above her head a halo, and through the mist of shimmering light you’d see perfectly affixed to her a set of Angel’s wings.

Things continue to look up for Moise! Just out of school, he had six very attractive job offers by some serious players in the aviation world. After much consideration, he accepted a position with Omni Air International as a Line Mechanic, based back up in Maryland at the Baltimore airport.

Before we part, I want to share with you some more from the letter that this story started with, in Moise’s own words;

“What could a regular young man from Cameroon have to do with airplanes, apart from dreaming of boarding one to get to the USA for greener pastures? Through my journey of hard work and hope, I found myself at Delta Airlines, developed the interest in airplanes, met people along the way that fueled the interest which turned into love, and today I am a certified AMT mechanic! Everyday I wake up ready to go to work, even when the workload is much. I come out feeling accomplished at the end of a work shift, knowing that I played a part in making someone’s trip on the plane safer, and I get to learn more about the aircraft.

I see myself having a lifelong career in aviation, regardless of the part I may find myself in. I can say that I love what I wake up to do, every day, at work. I am grateful to be paid doing what I love!

My interest in aircraft started when I first worked at Menzies, fueling aircraft. But I doubt that I would have taken the leap of faith to dive into the work of an aircraft mechanic if not for Mr. Eddy, my co-worker at Delta Airlines, who spoke to me about it.

My journey continues as I intend to go to flight school and get my pilot’s license and I am working toward finishing my Associates Degree in Applied Science.

If ever given the chance, I would love to advise other young people to look into and explore this field.” And he ended the letter with, “TO GOD BE THE GLORY, I COULDN’T HAVE MADE IT WITHOUT HIM, JESUS THE MASTER PLANNER!” Yes, in all capital letters.

Mr. Moise Banga, AMT-A&P, you are the American dream!

(A note to my readers,

We all have a story, and yours is important! No matter how lofty your dreams may appear, how far off in the distance they seem, or if it feels like you are standing at the shores of a great ocean, the tide rising up over your toes, looking out over the vast seas separating you from your goal, please know that inside you is the power to make those dreams come true!

If you ever need a word of encouragement in your aviation journey, I am here and will be your biggest cheerleader! ~ Matt)

Matt Ferrari can be contacted via email at: gypsyskywriter@gmail.com