Jean Marie
PROGRESS
OUR GOAL: A CIRCLE OF SUPPORTERS GIVING $350/MONTH OR $4200 FOR THE YEAR
Rwanda
University of Rwanda
General medicine
CAREER: Doctor
GRAD DATE: 2024
JOURNEY
- March 1, 2023 – In a recent Leadership Development Workshop, we explored the question, “How can you make sure the pain of your past doesn’t determine your future?” What stood out and meant the most to you in this workshop? Jean Marie said: “I really learned a lot from the workshop and enjoyed every part of it. What touched me the most was learning how to take your past sufferings as lessons for the future. I learned that everything happens in our life for a noble purpose: to teach us or raise us to a higher level.”
- September 8, 2022 – Jean Marie discussed the biggest changes in his life since the end of the COVID restrictions: “Since the end of the COVID restrictions, the biggest change in my life came from the fact that I have been able to exploit all hours of the day, hence doing my daily tasks well with no rush because there’s no curfew. I also have been able to restore my social relationships with other people.”
- September 13, 2021 – Jean Marie shared his favorite song and what it means to him: “My song is “You Raise Me Up” — https://youtu.be/pZwNzQhjcHE. I like this song so much simply because of its message. It reminds me how Jesus never abandons me in my life. He’s always been there through all the bad and good.”
- July 16, 2021 – Jean Marie shared what resilience means to him: “In my view, resilience means to be able to bounce back even stronger, after you’ve been passing through difficult moments. Just being able to move on with hope.”
- March 1, 2021 – Jean Marie said his biggest lesson from 2020 was: “My biggest lesson in 2020 is that there is no substitute for hard work, and lifting one another up is the key to development. This lesson came from observing how the year 2020 went in an unpredicted way, changing almost everything in a blink of an eye! But despite those difficult times of lockdown, and restricted movements, people who had managed to work harder before and keep some savings were less affected. I also noticed that everyone of us need to cooperate with others so that he/she can take an extra step ahead.”
Jean Marie’S CIRCLE
BIO
Jean Marie is the last born in a big family of 7 children. Raising such a big Despite all these difficulties in accessing education, their father always told them that the key for a better future lies in education and that they should use any chance they got to create a better future for themselves, their family and community. His father inspired Jean Marie to work hard in class, so he was always the first in his class in primary school. He was admitted to one of the most prestigious secondary schools in Rwanda. This school shaped his life by encouraging him to work even harder than he did in primary, because of the competitiveness of the students there, who were among the top performers in the whole country. Jean Marie grew up in a rural community where access to healthcare was a dream for many of the villagers who had to pay for a bus ticket to reach any nearby healthcare institution. Understandably, during medical emergencies it was almost impossible for a patient to make it to the hospital alive. Jean Marie always recalls an incident of a crying young mother who had just lost her firstborn, after giving birth while she was still on the way to the hospital. All these incidents inspired Jean Marie to become a healthcare provider so that he can contribute to increased availability of healthcare services, especially in rural areas. Jean Marie is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine and Surgery at University of Rwanda. Apart from his studies, Jean Marie is a soccer fan, who enjoy both watching and playing. He also enjoys music and reading books about social life, history, leadership and economy. He participates in debating activities either as a debater or as a judge, because he likes hearing from others and learning from their ideas. Jean Marie is also a member of the choir at his church.
number of children was not an easy task for his parents as they struggled to provide meals, let alone healthcare or education costs. His father is a farmer and his mom is a stay at home mother. Due to the close ages of his siblings, access to quality education was almost impossible for them. At first, his elder brother sacrificed himself to help their parents in working for the family’s needs, but he couldn’t do it all alone. Jean Marie’s mother’s relatives volunteered to pay school fees for some of them.
