“I Dream to” … work as a Pediatrician who runs a National Non-Profit like Martina Fuchs

me, Marlene Guillermo outside LA Leadership High School

My name is Marlene Guillermo and “I Dream to” … work as a Pediatrician who runs a National Non-Profit like Martina Fuchs.

I was inspired to work as a pediatrician because I love children.   My mentor Martina Fuchs told me she was first inspired when she was in grade school. I got inspired when one of my sisters was really ill and the doctors could not help her.
She has encouraged me to become a pediatrician in many ways. She gave me hope as well as good advice. She told me that sometimes she wanted to quit but she kept on going, which inspired me even more because there were times where I felt like giving up.

Martina Fuchs, CEO of Real Medicine.org

Q: Do you like what you are doing?

A: Yes, I love what I am doing. I am the CEO and Founder of the Real Medicine Foundation (www.realmedicinefoundation.org). As a pediatrician, I supported the relief efforts after the December 2004 tsunami and helped to establish a small children’s clinic in one of the refugee camps in southern Sri Lanka. This work gave birth to the Real Medicine Foundation. We establish and sustain clinics, provide heart surgeries and long-term medication for children, support schools and pre-schools, establish microfinance projects to rebuild lives, and much more. We are also establishing mobile clinics to provide medical care to children and their families who are too poor and who live in areas too remote to reach hospitals or doctors. Currently, we have projects in India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar/Burma, starting in Armenia; Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, starting in Sudan; and in Peru. We also work here in the US; we worked in Hurricane Katrina and have outreach programs out of a clinic in South Los Angeles as well as food programs and psychological trauma support programs for homeless children in LA and children living under poverty level.

What I love about our work is that we are able to help children and their families around the world. At this point, we reach in excess of 1.5million people on a daily basis. I also am very proud of the people we are working with. Our teams here in the US and around the world are phenomenal.

Martina, visiting me at LA Leadership

Q2:How old were you when you became a pediatrician?

A: I completed medical school when I was 25, and then did 5 years of training to be a pediatrician.

Q3: What is the salary range for a person in you’re position?

A: It highly varies.

Q4:How many days do you work?

A: Right now, as the CEO of Real Medicine Foundation, I often work 7 days a week.

Martina shows me the many places she's worked

Q5:Do you have time for fun things?

A: Absolutely. I enjoy inline skating and going to the beach. I love movies and art. And since I really love to travel, my work with Real Medicine is great fun.   Soon, I go to  Pakistan. Last week I was in India, visiting our projects. I get to meet amazing people and we are able to reach hundreds of thousands of children and families.

Me: Thank you !

Martina Fuchs: You are very welcome !

I got Martina to have fun ! for the camera. Photo by: Marlene G.

CEO of Real Medicine Foundation Martina Fuchs and student Marlene Guillermo. Photo By: Amy Tierney