The first time you meet Guethie (known to some by her nickname Cassandre) she will greet you with a soft voice and a warm smile but don’t let this fool you into thinking that she is passive. She’s also a fiercely determined young woman who is working hard to achieve her dreams. She just recently entered her third year as a university student studying medicine, and her goal is to one day become a pediatrician. Haiti is in desperate need of more doctors, so this will be of great service to her community.

The path to get where she has been today has not been easy and the path ahead is also laden with challenges. Every school day she wakes well before the sun rises so she can take the long, dusty, crowded ride into Port-au-Prince via a transportation vehicle known in Haiti as a tap-tap. Her classes start at 7:00 am and go well into the afternoon. She returns home after dark only to get up and do it all over again.

Because the route to and from school is prone to traffic jams, flooding, and gang violence there’s no guarantee that she’ll make it. Some days she has to turn around and go home, but she tries every day because she is determined to pursue her passion and make a better life for her family. In spite of all of these challenges combined with a delay for Covid-19, she is passing her classes and continues to advance.

In order to become a doctor, she must finish her undergraduate program and continue onto medical school. This will take an estimated 7 years, and then she must do a 3-year residency. She currently lives with her mother and father who are both aging and neither of them is formerly employed, so there is no way that her family will be able to pay her school costs. She only made it through the last 2 years through support from Thrive Ansanm, and she will only be able to finish with ongoing support.

We are honored to partner with bright, determined young women such as Guethie who are pursuing their passions. Click here to help Guethie stay in school.