Jouhline Marie

Hello, my name is Jouhline Marie, everyone calls me Djhou. I live in a three-room dwelling with my parents, five siblings, and my cousin in the densely populated, coastal town of Cabaret, Haiti. It is difficult to try to explain the challenging conditions of my childhood. Amongst illness, poverty, periods of separation between my parents, and the daily fight for basic needs, I stand today with a resilient spirit and a hunger to serve others. During a period of sickness resulting in a battle for my life, I encountered the presence and faithfulness of God, whose name I did not yet know. However, after being invited to a brand-new ministry in my area, Young Life, I heard about Jesus and knew Him at once. I dove in head first and immersed myself into learning more about God and serving teens just like me. I am compelled to speak hope and life and bring light to the dark places of girls’ lives in my community. My relationship with Christ grows more and more in spite difficult circumstances; I thirst for Him and seek His presence continually through the reading of the word and prayer.

As a Developing Global Leaders scholarship recipient, I am pursuing a degree in science and medicine at Aristide Foundation University. I have seen first hand the depths of physical and mental illness and want to lead in the field of physiotherapy in order to address the desperate needs of the people in my country. This opportunity has given me hope and vision for dreams I never allowed myself to have and I will be the first person in my family to graduate from university.