“Price-Mars: A Lesson on Perseverance and Commitment”

Here’s a lesson about commitment, perseverance, and dedication that I want to share with you from the life of Jean Price-Mars.

At 19 years old, Jean Price-Mars began his medical training at the National School of Medicine, Haiti’s only medical school at that time, located in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. In 1899, he received a government scholarship to finish his medical studies at “La Sorbonne”/University of Paris, in Paris, France. Due to financial difficulty, his studies were interrupted in 1901. Hence, he was forced to return to Haiti before getting his medical degree.

Twenty-two years later (I say 22 years later!), Price-Mars resumed his medical school in 1922 at the School of Medicine affiliated with Université d’État d’Haiti/the State University of Haiti. In 1923, he was awarded with his medical degree (M.D.) at 47 years old. Yes, he was 47 years old when he became a physician!

Immediately, he joined a medical team/clinic in Port-au-Prince to provide medical care to and cure the illnesses of the Haitian people. Because of his commitment to the Haitian peasants, the marginalized group in Haiti, he spent a lot of time riding his horse in the mountains and hills of Kenskoff to treat their diseases and make their life better. It was during his visits in Haiti’s countryside while spending time with the rural people that he began to do ethnological studies and attended more than 100 Vodou ceremonies. Jean Price-Mars would become the Father of Haitian ethnology and train thousands of students in the discipline.

His son, Louis Mars, following the footsteps of his famous father, also became a medical doctor. In fact, Dr. Louis Mars became the first Haitian psychiatrist. Like his father, he has written prolifically on the relationship between Vodou, psychiatry, and spirit possession. It should be noted that it was his father who inspired him to study psychiatric medicine, and he devoted his entire life caring for the Haitian people.