Saint Joseph’s Responds to Haiti Earthquake

PHILADELPHIA (Jan. 20, 2010) – Soon after receiving news of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12, University President Timothy R. Lannon, S.J., sent a message to the SJU community outlining how to support the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere during this crisis. His message was informed by a conversation he had with another member of the Jesuit community.

“Like many of you, I have been following the devastating aftereffects of the earthquake in Haiti,” Fr. Lannon wrote. “Today I spoke with Patrick Samway, S.J., who recently returned from a two-week stay in Haiti. He has been in contact with our fellow Jesuits in Port-au-Prince and has informed me about their situation.”

Professor of English Patrick Samway, S.J., spends from two to six weeks in Haiti each year. He has done so for the last twenty years, working mainly in local parishes, teaching university students and assisting at orphanages and hospitals run by the Missionaries of Charity – the congregation founded by Mother Teresa.

“Part of my heart is and will always be in Haiti,” said Fr. Samway, who left the country just six days before the 7.0 scale earthquake struck the capital, Port-Au-Prince, and environs.

His experience there enables him to provide valuable perspective on the country’s needs, both in the aftermath of the earthquake and in the years ahead. “My gut tells me that we need to think long-term, especially in rebuilding the country’s infrastructure,” Samway said. “They need imaginative ideas for doing this, instead of reconstructing the same infrastructure that has proven inadequate.”

Samway also stressed the importance of developing Haiti’s educational opportunities as it moves forward. It is a recommendation SJU hopes to promote. According to Vice President of Mission and Identity Springs Steele, a program currently in the planning stages will be designed to provide educational assistance to the Haitian people.

“Our long-range effort is to provide educational services and materials, such as grammar-school books in French, uniforms, chalk boards, notebooks, and potentially, even instructional support, since we have such great academic resources to draw from,” Steele said.

According to Samway, together with their Jesuit confreres in Latin America, Haitian Jesuits have recently started two new schools, which they hope will become part of a Jesuit system of education in Haiti. This new network of schools will be called in Creole “Lafwa ak kè kontan”— Faith and Joy

“Education is a visible sign of progress in any community,” Samway added.

In the short term, the University is recommending that those who wish to provide immediate assistance make donations to Catholic Relief Services or the Jesuit Mission Office in Montreal, Canada. Though monetary assistance is preferred due to the logistical difficulties involved in delivering supplies, Steele said that care package items may be dropped-off at the Wolfington Center on Saint Joseph’s campus.

Though students have only just begun school this week, they are already actively looking for ways to assist with relief efforts. “I’ve gotten a ton of e-mail from students asking how they can help, offering ideas for what we should do,” said Campus Minister Beth Ford ’99.

To organize student and faculty and staff efforts, a Town Hall will be held Thursday, Jan. 21, at 5:30 p.m. in the Presidents’ Lounge, Campion Student Center, to develop a plan of action. Ford said that students have already settled on one idea: making and selling ribbons to raise money for Catholic Relief Services.

“The goal of the ribbons is to show solidarity with the people of Haiti and spread awareness,” Ford said. Ribbons will be sold in Wolfington Center for a suggested donation of $5.00 and will be available at several locations on campus. A prayer service was held Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Chapel of St. Joseph-Michael J. Smith, S.J. Memorial.

In addition to the University’s relief efforts, Samway has been tracking Jesuit assistance in Haiti, where he says the Jesuit novitiate in Port-au-Prince is serving as a distribution point for material coming from the United States.

To make a donation to the Jesuit Mission in Haiti, please make checks payable to “Missions Jesuites” [note the final “s” in the first word and the second “e” in the second word] and mail to: Bureau des Missions, 45, Rue Jarry Ouest, Montréal, Québec, H2P 1S6, Canada; Memo portion of check: Haiti Earthquake.

To make a donation to Catholic Social Services, donate by telephone at 1-877-HELP-CRS; online here; or mail to Catholic Relief Services, P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, Maryland 21203-7090; Memo portion of check: Haiti Earthquake.