Haitian Earthquake Survivor Thriving At Pittsburgh College
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Today marks the fifth anniversary of a massive earthquake in Haiti that killed thousands of people.
Ironically, it also saved one life, thanks to a local man and a medical team in Pittsburgh.
Haiti was an impoverished nation, even before it was rocked by the quake. Odds against rising from the rubble to succeed seemed overwhelming. But one young man did just that - with a helping hand.
Tassy Fils-Aime enrolled in the chemistry department at Laroche College last semester. He was initially discovered by Pittsburgh's Ian Rosenberger, star of the Survivor TV series, on a relief mission in Haiti.
Though Tassy survived the quake, he was living with a dangerous tumor in his jaw.
"I was just like, waiting literally for my time to die," he recalls. "Then I met this guy from Pittsburgh."
Rosenberger set up Team Tassy, to raise money for a successful surgery at Allegheny General Hospital. Confident in his dedication and ability, Team Tassy funded his tuition to La Roche. He has not disappointed his supporters, or his professor, Don Fujito.
"He shows all the promise and all the drive, and all the intelligence everything you would need in order to excel as a chemistry major, as a pre-med student," Professor Fujito says. "He's demonstrated it all."
His student is learning water analysis, so he can help his neighbors in Haiti improve their drinking water.
"The idea behind Team Tassy," he explains, "is to stick with the poor till they don't need you any more. And the way to stick with them is to help them financially, emotionally. Just because you are poor doesn't mean you don't have feelings."
It seems Team Tassy's work has just begun.
For info on how to help people in Tassy's homeland, log on to www.teamtassy.org
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