My name is Dr. Charius Lazar. I was born in Nouvelle Cité, on the island of la Gonâve, Haiti. I am 32 years old, and I am the youngest of 14 children. My mother took in sewing, and my father farmed the land. I was educated as a child in the St. Croix School in Nouvelle Cité. Today one of my brothers is the Principal of this school. I discovered at a very early age that I was gifted in music. I learned to play many instruments, including the trumpet and the keyboard, in St. Francois D’Assise Church in Anse-A-Galets, La Gonâve. Although I could play music by listening to it, I was able to have music lessons while attending the St. Francois D’Assise School. I was also blessed to study music at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Port Au Prince. One day, when I was singing in the choir at St. Croix Church in Nouvelle Cité, my friend told me about a scholarship to Medical School. I received a scholarship and graduated from the Escuela Latinamerica de Medicina (ELAM) in Venezuela in 2017. I will soon begin my year as a Social Doctor in internship here in Haiti.
I am very grateful for my friendship with the La Gonâve Haiti partnership. I remember participating in a rural mobile medical clinic with Lee Wilder, from America. We were in Bois Brule, a small community on la Gonâve Island. Lee was holding a little child who was born with hydrocephalus, a condition with too much cerebrospinal fluid collecting around the brain, causing increased pressure between the brain and the inside of the skull. And Lee was crying. I realized that Lee and our brothers and sisters who come to Haiti offer their work with love and sincerity. Lee gave me an example of how to do my own work with love. As a Haitian, I want to do more than be a doctor. I want to share knowledge and experiences, and see what we can do together to improve the health of my people. My dream is to continue to learn, to work with pregnant women and infants, and to develop my medical practice in my hometown of Nouvelle Cité. I also want to share the love of God with music in the churches on la Gonâve.
I would like to tell the people of America that we are very happy for their love of the Haitian people. My hope for Haiti is that we will be a country of strong and healthy people. May God bless you all.
Dr. Charius Lazar