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Paralyzed Courageous Young Disabled Man Hungry for an Education Needs Your Support
Welcome to my GoFundMe account! Thank you for supporting my dream of getting a University education. With your help, I can make this dream a reality. Please share my story after reading it, not only to support, but so that people can take it as an example of where determination can take you.
Please let me introduce myself. My name is Gregory Constant and I was born in Haiti. I grew up as a healthy child of a poor but caring family. One day, while walking to school as an eight year old boy, I remember falling to the ground before going unconscious and not being able to feel or move my legs or lower body after. Since that day, I have been thoracic-vertebra-paralyzed and unable to walk. My single father could not take care of me and didn’t know what to do, as I was in a lot of pain and immobile, at that point unable to move my arms. He searched tirelessly for medical treatment, facing countless rejections from Haiti’s overstrained health facilities, until I finally was accepted at a pediatric hospital of a foreign NGO where healthcare was provided to children for free. I stayed there for four years, because the doctors thought that I wouldn’t live long. The nurses there observed that I was quite intelligent, and was quick to pick up different languages; I frequently ended up translating the english foreigners spoke to other patients. This hospital also had a home for orphaned and disadvantaged children left in its care, which took me in and allowed me to continue my education there.
As you can imagine, growing up in Haiti was accompanied by many ups and downs for someone with my health status and physical challenges. Most doctors continued to project that I would have a short lifespan. Nevertheless, as you can see, with the support of the Lord and many foreign volunteers and the staff of the local health facilities who cared for me, I managed to survive life-threatening conditions. For a long time I didn’t seek out friendships in my life. I experienced a lot of discrimination and bullying, as disabled people are frequently outcast in Haiti. I was in a very dark and lonely place, with a lot of stress about what my future would look like and without a family close by. I often thought about what my mother was like; I was told as a young boy that she had died a month after I was born. My sadness in not having known her and my desire for maternal affection were stronger in my loneliness. My stress and sadness manifested as depression and anger, bringing me into deeper despair while I tried to overcome it through God’s word.
I was skilled in using computers and Microsoft Office, and I began to assist a nurse at the orphanage clinic with computer work. The nurse became my friend and helped me see past my disability, letting my personality and talents shine through and causing other people around me do so as well. Gaining the confidence to socialize more with other children instead of only observing them allowed me to grow and deal better with my stress. I became very popular and excelled in school. For the time he was at the clinic I continued to assist the nurse who called me the master of problem-solving, as I was quick to find solutions for others and in my own life. As someone who is wheelchair dependent, I have learned to substitute my limited physical abilities with the eagerness and motivation God gave me to live. I have realized that I can do anything I put my mind to.
After graduating with high marks from high school at the orphanage in 2009, it was impossible to find options for further schooling in Haiti. The orphanage did not want to help me to attend college or university, thinking it would be a waste of money, but also the challenge was that many higher education schools in Haiti would not accept me because of my special needs and the facilities were not handicap accessible. Just getting to and from school would have been close to impossible due to non-existent handicap accessibility and poor walkability in Haiti.
When the devastating January 12th, 2010 earthquake hit the country, my situation became more dismal. I was very fortunate to have survived it, having been on the second floor of an office as it shook uncontrollably throughout the quake and the first aftershock. Can you imagine being in a wheelchair and not able to escape down the stairs, let alone control the wheels rolling your chair around? Everyone evacuated the office and left me there, but I got out okay later by God’s grace. After that incident, I knew I was born to fight. And in the following years, I fought hard to create a future for myself.
While I could no longer attend school, I worked to earn money by fixing cell phones as well as selling my own paintings and crafts. I attempted to start a career as a musician, and networked with a lot of Haitian artists. I performed with some of them on stage as well as on my own in clubs. While I had some promise in pursuing music, my career never took off, and I knew that it would be difficult to support myself this way into the future. I knew that the only chance for my personal advancement, and the ability to support my family and siblings, was to attend University abroad in order to learn and develop my professional skills.
My father and younger half-brother and sister visited me sometimes at the orphanage, at which I continued to live. In addition to ongoing stress about my future, determining how to raise money and further my education, and daily challenges as a disabled person, I was concerned about my family which was struggling with poverty and had lost their home with the earthquake. My father placed hope in me as his eldest son, and I often had to give up some of my hard-earned money to help them. I loved my little sister and brother very dearly, and wanted to protect them as best I could.
I fundraised for more than seven long and arduous years to finance my education, a feat which only a determined and dauntless person could have accomplished, and not many have. In October 2015 I was accepted to Florida International University’s English Language Institute in Miami. Having a large network gave me greater opportunity to further my cause, and I contacted many journalists in the country to help me spread my story and fundraise. Many people said that I was sleeping, that I would never be able to fundraise enough money to apply for a student visa, travel to Miami, and finance living and education expenses in the U.S., especially because the conversion from Haiti’s currency to U.S. dollars is so expensive. In late 2015, the financial support of some generous donors and an educational subsidy from the Haitian government finally gave me the opportunity to travel to Miami and attend English classes to prepare me for applying to college in the US. In January 2016, I started classes at FIU’s English Language Institute.
In 2016, while I was traversing English classes and a new life in the U.S., another big blow brought sadness to my life. My young sister died due to insecurity issues in Haiti.
The Haitian government did not continue their financial support of my dream as promised after their initial donation. Thankfully, FIU, through the support and lobbying of some very caring and hardworking administrators and faculty, provided a tuition only scholarship for me to continue my English courses. Caring donors that I have met along the way helped to cover my living expenses.
Now that I finally see a realistic chance of starting my studies, I am about to run out of money to complete my dream again. I will not be able to complete my Associates degree if I am not able to pay for tuition and books. I am furthermore in need of medical care and medication for my spinal scoliosis and physical therapy that I cannot afford. I don't know what complications my spinal condition will give me in the future, therefore it's very important for me to go see a specialist for my spine, which I have not been able to do because of inhibiting costs. I also need to secure more reliable transportation for myself, which has been difficult. Because I moved to the United States recently to study, it has not been easy to pay for all of my expenses.
My biggest goal is to complete my education and, through that, to support my family in Haiti, some day raise a family of my own, and be able to see a specialist for my spine due to unpredictable consequences of my condition. Since I left Haiti, my family’s home was damaged by Hurricane Matthew, and my father has struggled to feed my siblings, placing a lot of hope in my success for them to simply survive.
After passing Miami Dade College’s English-entrance exam in December 2016, I successfully applied to enroll for Summer 2018 college courses. This summer 2019, I have been able to start classes for my AA after completing my English course requirements in the spring. Now the biggest challenge will be to raise enough money to pay for school fees and living expenses. If I can secure the financial support, my next steps will take me to Miami Dade College (MDC) to complete an Associate’s degree. After that I hope to have the chance to come back to FIU to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems (MIS).
I have already made it this far, against all odds. The seven years I fought to fundraise enough money for a U.S. education were oftentimes very discouraging, and my dream was likened to driving an ordinary car into the sea; but I survived because of my ambition. I’ve survived life and school in the U.S. for three years now, fundraising and networking with donors throughout my time here. I’m hopeful that your generosity will help me reach my dream. And in return, I promise to make you proud of what I can accomplish.
Only with your support am I able to continue by dream and complete my education!
Here is a summary breakdown of the expenses I need to cover:
$23,000 for 2 years tuition, fees, health insurance and books at MDC
$37,912 for 2 years tuition and fees at FIU
$3,080 for books and supplies at FIU
$3,800 for 2 years health insurance at FIU
$77,208 for four years living expenses, van transportation, and health expenses
+$11,600 for the approximately 8% fee taken by GoFundMe and WePay combined
$80,000 for medical treatment of scoliosis and more
Total: $236,600
My Facebook Page
My Instagram Profile
My Twitter Page
Thank you,
Gregory Constant
Welcome to my GoFundMe account! Thank you for supporting my dream of getting a University education. With your help, I can make this dream a reality. Please share my story after reading it, not only to support, but so that people can take it as an example of where determination can take you.
Please let me introduce myself. My name is Gregory Constant and I was born in Haiti. I grew up as a healthy child of a poor but caring family. One day, while walking to school as an eight year old boy, I remember falling to the ground before going unconscious and not being able to feel or move my legs or lower body after. Since that day, I have been thoracic-vertebra-paralyzed and unable to walk. My single father could not take care of me and didn’t know what to do, as I was in a lot of pain and immobile, at that point unable to move my arms. He searched tirelessly for medical treatment, facing countless rejections from Haiti’s overstrained health facilities, until I finally was accepted at a pediatric hospital of a foreign NGO where healthcare was provided to children for free. I stayed there for four years, because the doctors thought that I wouldn’t live long. The nurses there observed that I was quite intelligent, and was quick to pick up different languages; I frequently ended up translating the english foreigners spoke to other patients. This hospital also had a home for orphaned and disadvantaged children left in its care, which took me in and allowed me to continue my education there.
As you can imagine, growing up in Haiti was accompanied by many ups and downs for someone with my health status and physical challenges. Most doctors continued to project that I would have a short lifespan. Nevertheless, as you can see, with the support of the Lord and many foreign volunteers and the staff of the local health facilities who cared for me, I managed to survive life-threatening conditions. For a long time I didn’t seek out friendships in my life. I experienced a lot of discrimination and bullying, as disabled people are frequently outcast in Haiti. I was in a very dark and lonely place, with a lot of stress about what my future would look like and without a family close by. I often thought about what my mother was like; I was told as a young boy that she had died a month after I was born. My sadness in not having known her and my desire for maternal affection were stronger in my loneliness. My stress and sadness manifested as depression and anger, bringing me into deeper despair while I tried to overcome it through God’s word.
I was skilled in using computers and Microsoft Office, and I began to assist a nurse at the orphanage clinic with computer work. The nurse became my friend and helped me see past my disability, letting my personality and talents shine through and causing other people around me do so as well. Gaining the confidence to socialize more with other children instead of only observing them allowed me to grow and deal better with my stress. I became very popular and excelled in school. For the time he was at the clinic I continued to assist the nurse who called me the master of problem-solving, as I was quick to find solutions for others and in my own life. As someone who is wheelchair dependent, I have learned to substitute my limited physical abilities with the eagerness and motivation God gave me to live. I have realized that I can do anything I put my mind to.
After graduating with high marks from high school at the orphanage in 2009, it was impossible to find options for further schooling in Haiti. The orphanage did not want to help me to attend college or university, thinking it would be a waste of money, but also the challenge was that many higher education schools in Haiti would not accept me because of my special needs and the facilities were not handicap accessible. Just getting to and from school would have been close to impossible due to non-existent handicap accessibility and poor walkability in Haiti.
When the devastating January 12th, 2010 earthquake hit the country, my situation became more dismal. I was very fortunate to have survived it, having been on the second floor of an office as it shook uncontrollably throughout the quake and the first aftershock. Can you imagine being in a wheelchair and not able to escape down the stairs, let alone control the wheels rolling your chair around? Everyone evacuated the office and left me there, but I got out okay later by God’s grace. After that incident, I knew I was born to fight. And in the following years, I fought hard to create a future for myself.
While I could no longer attend school, I worked to earn money by fixing cell phones as well as selling my own paintings and crafts. I attempted to start a career as a musician, and networked with a lot of Haitian artists. I performed with some of them on stage as well as on my own in clubs. While I had some promise in pursuing music, my career never took off, and I knew that it would be difficult to support myself this way into the future. I knew that the only chance for my personal advancement, and the ability to support my family and siblings, was to attend University abroad in order to learn and develop my professional skills.
My father and younger half-brother and sister visited me sometimes at the orphanage, at which I continued to live. In addition to ongoing stress about my future, determining how to raise money and further my education, and daily challenges as a disabled person, I was concerned about my family which was struggling with poverty and had lost their home with the earthquake. My father placed hope in me as his eldest son, and I often had to give up some of my hard-earned money to help them. I loved my little sister and brother very dearly, and wanted to protect them as best I could.
I fundraised for more than seven long and arduous years to finance my education, a feat which only a determined and dauntless person could have accomplished, and not many have. In October 2015 I was accepted to Florida International University’s English Language Institute in Miami. Having a large network gave me greater opportunity to further my cause, and I contacted many journalists in the country to help me spread my story and fundraise. Many people said that I was sleeping, that I would never be able to fundraise enough money to apply for a student visa, travel to Miami, and finance living and education expenses in the U.S., especially because the conversion from Haiti’s currency to U.S. dollars is so expensive. In late 2015, the financial support of some generous donors and an educational subsidy from the Haitian government finally gave me the opportunity to travel to Miami and attend English classes to prepare me for applying to college in the US. In January 2016, I started classes at FIU’s English Language Institute.
In 2016, while I was traversing English classes and a new life in the U.S., another big blow brought sadness to my life. My young sister died due to insecurity issues in Haiti.
The Haitian government did not continue their financial support of my dream as promised after their initial donation. Thankfully, FIU, through the support and lobbying of some very caring and hardworking administrators and faculty, provided a tuition only scholarship for me to continue my English courses. Caring donors that I have met along the way helped to cover my living expenses.
Now that I finally see a realistic chance of starting my studies, I am about to run out of money to complete my dream again. I will not be able to complete my Associates degree if I am not able to pay for tuition and books. I am furthermore in need of medical care and medication for my spinal scoliosis and physical therapy that I cannot afford. I don't know what complications my spinal condition will give me in the future, therefore it's very important for me to go see a specialist for my spine, which I have not been able to do because of inhibiting costs. I also need to secure more reliable transportation for myself, which has been difficult. Because I moved to the United States recently to study, it has not been easy to pay for all of my expenses.
My biggest goal is to complete my education and, through that, to support my family in Haiti, some day raise a family of my own, and be able to see a specialist for my spine due to unpredictable consequences of my condition. Since I left Haiti, my family’s home was damaged by Hurricane Matthew, and my father has struggled to feed my siblings, placing a lot of hope in my success for them to simply survive.
After passing Miami Dade College’s English-entrance exam in December 2016, I successfully applied to enroll for Summer 2018 college courses. This summer 2019, I have been able to start classes for my AA after completing my English course requirements in the spring. Now the biggest challenge will be to raise enough money to pay for school fees and living expenses. If I can secure the financial support, my next steps will take me to Miami Dade College (MDC) to complete an Associate’s degree. After that I hope to have the chance to come back to FIU to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems (MIS).
I have already made it this far, against all odds. The seven years I fought to fundraise enough money for a U.S. education were oftentimes very discouraging, and my dream was likened to driving an ordinary car into the sea; but I survived because of my ambition. I’ve survived life and school in the U.S. for three years now, fundraising and networking with donors throughout my time here. I’m hopeful that your generosity will help me reach my dream. And in return, I promise to make you proud of what I can accomplish.
Only with your support am I able to continue by dream and complete my education!
Here is a summary breakdown of the expenses I need to cover:
$23,000 for 2 years tuition, fees, health insurance and books at MDC
$37,912 for 2 years tuition and fees at FIU
$3,080 for books and supplies at FIU
$3,800 for 2 years health insurance at FIU
$77,208 for four years living expenses, van transportation, and health expenses
+$11,600 for the approximately 8% fee taken by GoFundMe and WePay combined
$80,000 for medical treatment of scoliosis and more
Total: $236,600
My Facebook Page
My Instagram Profile
My Twitter Page
Thank you,
Gregory Constant
Organizer
Gregory Constant
Organizer
Miami, FL