Help Make My Dream a Reality: Empower Me To Become An MD

Hello everyone,

My name is Angelique Desouza, and I am trying to make my lifelong dream of becoming a Family Physician a reality. To show my appreciation for your time and busy schedule I will provide a short summary of my mission first and then I would love to share a little more about me and my journey with you if you’re interested.

I have been fortunate enough to be accepted to the University of Flinders Doctor of Medicine Graduate entry program in South Australia this year that requires:

Deposit: $18,147 CAD

Final tuition fee installment: $20,186 CAD

Mandatory health coverage: $3,216 CAD

Total acceptance fee: $41,549 CAD

For all 4 years of the degree: $76,604 CAD/year for a total of $306,416 CAD

To fund my education, I am only asking for the minimum amount to cover my first year's tuition as, this would allow me to start medical school and try again for another year to find alternative funding: $76,604 CAD plus GoFundMe Fees (2.9% + $0.3/transaction) for a total of $79,000 CAD

Over the past few years, I’ve poured my heart into supporting myself, excelling academically and volunteering to give back to my community. Yet, I believe my true challenge begins after being accepted, as the journey ahead is undoubtedly an uphill climb! While I plan to continue working during my studies to cover my living expenses, my hardest battle will be raising funds for my tuition. If you feel moved to help me cover more than my first year’s tuition, I would be more than eternally grateful and will accept any additional help you are gracious enough to provide.

If you are unable to donate now, I humbly ask that you share this fundraising page with your community, as exposure is equally helpful.

I am the blessed daughter of a single mother home who is the first of my family to go to post-secondary school, and graduate with an Honors of Kinesiology Bachelors of Science degree. My mom and I immigrated to Canada when I was fourteen and since then we have been completely on our own. It has been a rough road without having our loved ones to help us rebuild our life. However, we’ve always been each other’s support systems, and all my successes are due to my mother’s constant support and endless love, for which I know I am uniquely blessed to have. Growing up, I lived between Barbados and the United States and had the opportunity to experience two very different health care systems through my grandmothers’ experiences with Alzheimer's and Dementia as well as my aunt’s fight with Breast Cancer. I am a first-hand witness, and as many of you can relate as well, to the lasting impact a physician can have not only on the patients they serve but also on the families and communities they ultimately become a part of. Since these impressionable years, I have strived to make my dream of one day becoming a physician, who follows my patients from birth all the way through to their golden years, a reality. However, the reality no one told me about is that I would struggle to afford my dream. This is where I turn to you, my global community that I hope to one day serve, for the help I so desperately need! This would not only change my fate but also give me the privilege to also change many other lives for the better.

After many years of working to pay for applications, exams, school and all the unexpected expenses that are built into the process of becoming a physician, I finally broke the glass ceiling and defied all the odds stacked against me to gain three acceptances to medical schools outside Canada. However, due to my lack of a co-signer, every single attempt I have made in the last year to secure a loan for my impending Medical Degree has been denied. I have had every Canadian bank, credit union and private lender slam the door in my face upon finding that I don’t own any collateral or have a qualified Guarantor to satisfy their reservations about lending me the funds I need to take this life altering step towards my future. I have also looked endlessly for scholarships or grants to help cover my tuition but unfortunately there are slim to none, and none of which, including Federal loans, could even cover the cost of my deposit alone. Even with working two jobs six-seven days, 48-56 hours, a week, my wages are not enough to cover one semester, let alone an entire year of schooling. I have exhausted every avenue to find funding and this is my last resort, asking for the help of friends and strangers. To be honest, this is not easy for me as I am so accustomed to doing everything on my own. But here I am, in full transparency and humility, asking for help from people who believe in me and want to see me succeed and achieve my goals. Ultimately, I plan to give back to my global community by helping others in similar positions to achieve their dreams and reach their full potential.

Here is the getting to know me part!

Passions of mine include; fashion, dance, painting, hiking and learning new languages, but it is medicine that has always been and will always be my greatest love. I got my first personal experience with the field when my Grandmother's Alzheimer’s reached its peak severity. Seeing the toll her condition had on my mom and other family members was difficult to fully grasp as a child of only seven years, but I seemed to be able to feel the relief that our generational doctor gave my family through his home visits to monitor my grandma’s disease progression and provide palliative care during her final days. The personal connection that he made through personalized patient care really made the difference in the last few moments of my grandma’s life for both her and my family. My depth of knowledge and appreciation for the field of medicine grew when my aunt developed stage three breast cancer. My mother and I moved back to Barbados so that my mom could help with her recovery after undergoing a double mastectomy coupled with various rounds of chemo and radiation therapy. Numerous hospital visits, enacting doctor recommendations for at home care and maintenance of other comorbidities she developed before and during her painful medical journey was an all-encompassing task that took a village of people. Not only did my aunt have a medical team involved in her treatment and recovery, but she had our entire immediate family and community dedicated to aiding her to beat this disease. During that difficult time, I realized that my aunt was lucky, she was one of few people who received that level of care. In small islands like Barbados, healthcare is privatized and what little public healthcare available is insufficient, underfunded, understaffed and often is too overloaded to provide any semblance of effective care to those who rely on it. However, this emotionally difficult situation was eye opening and inspiring, as it gave me a new appreciation for medicine. It helped me to learn that it isn't just an emotionally removed field where patients revolve in and out of hospitals and clinics like case files needing to be solved. Medicine is often a catalyst that brings communities together in times of need to help members during their most vulnerable moments. Becoming a physician will give me the opportunity to participate in my community through my passion of service for others, while allowing me to make lasting and meaningful connections with all those I serve. Finally, my drive to enter medical school and become a physician is also derived from my belief that no one should be limited by their health, and that medicine should not be a commodity only accessible to those who can financially afford it. I strongly believe that every individual should have the opportunity to live up to their full potential and be able to accomplish their goals and aspirations without their health becoming one of the obstacles they face when working towards achieving them. As a future Health Professional, I want to do my part in making quality healthcare accessible to anyone who requires it regardless of their financial or social status.

Asking for help is not one of my strong suits, as growing up I was taught to be independent in achieving my goals while reaching back to help others as well. However, this dream isn’t just for myself. Your investment in me will benefit the future patients of marginalized and medically disadvantaged communities I aim to serve, and it will also help elevate and inspire the next generation of POC, immigrant, refugee, female, aspiring physicians to their full potential. Through many of my life experiences I have learned that it takes a village to overcome adversity and that asking for help isn’t a weakness but rather a strength. So I humbly come to you at this pivotal point in my life, where I cannot do this alone, and ask for your support with the promise that I will pay your kindness forward in the near future.

Thank you for your time and for listening to my story,

In Humility and Gratitude

Thank you,

Angelique Desouza.