A former Peace Corps volunteer in Haiti, GW medical student Haylene Sandler says the reports she is receiving from Haitian friends in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquake are “dire.” “We’re trying to do as much as we can to help,” she says.
Ms. Sandler, who is involved with GW Medical Center’s International Medicine Program (IMP), says the program is organizing a group of GW physicians to assist Project Medishare in relief efforts.
Since 2004, IMP has partnered with Project Medishare, a nonprofit organization that provides health care to Haitian people. Through the partnership, IMP has sent medical teams to clinics in central Haiti and has collected thousands of dollars worth of medications for the organization and local clinics. The GW teams, which have included physicians, medical students, public health students and emergency medical technicians, have cared for more than 5,000 Haitians.
IMP Executive Director Huda Ayas calls the devastation in Haiti “heartbreaking.” “Despite their poverty, the Haitian people have some of the most beautiful smiles I’ve ever seen,” says Dr. Ayas. “We’ve seen patients who have nothing but will bring us eggs, goats and chickens to say thank you.”
Additional staff from the GW Medical Center are participating in relief efforts. According to Provost and Vice President for Health Affairs John Williams, GW emergency physicians who are a part of Fairfax Urban Search and Rescue deployed to Haiti last week. Other GW physicians have volunteered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist as needed.
GW’s efforts aren’t limited to the medical center. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, President Steven Knapp sent a letter to the GW community offering support for Haiti and guidance for those who want to assist the relief effort. Haiti’s First Lady Elisabeth Delatour Preval, who is a GW alumna, responded, thanking the president and University for their outreach. President Knapp has written the first lady and the Haitian ambassador personally.
At the Jan. 18 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, President Knapp again paid tribute to the victims of Haiti’s earthquake. “On this day of service, we also send our thoughts and prayers to the people of Haiti and those who are engaged in relief and recovery efforts, including members of our GW family,” he said. “We join many others across the country and around the world in pledging our support in the difficult days ahead.”
Vice President for External Relations Lorraine Voles has convened a working group of officials from across the University to share information about potential relief efforts, coordinate with and offer technical assistance to student organizations initiating relief efforts, and identify and reach out to students, faculty, staff and alumni of Haitian descent. The University has also created a Web hub for Haiti relief information on the GW homepage at www.gwu.edu about relief efforts and will continue to post updated information as it becomes available.
Representatives of student organizations and the Student Activities Center, among others, met Jan. 17 to discuss ways to coordinate efforts to maximize the potential impact of the many who want to help. A series of events on campus organized by GW’s Caribbean Students Association (CSA) are in the works to raise awareness and funds for the Haiti relief effort.
“The earthquake in Haiti has greatly affected the CSA community, particularly since many of our members have personal ties to Haiti,” says Emma Thelusma, a GW senior and CSA president whose family is from Haiti. “Due to the tremendous amount of support we have received from the GW community we have been able to quickly organize and mobilize a cohesive campus-wide response to the disaster.”
The student organization is spearheading a series of events that include a Jan. 19 candlelight vigil, a Jan. 20 letter writing event to show support for the people of Haiti, and a Jan. 22 fundraiser in the Marvin Center Ballroom. The GW MBA student community also took action—holding a donation drive Jan. 19 and 20 in the lobby of Duquès Hall to benefit the International Medical Corps. In addition, GW is hosting a panel on Risk, Suffering, and Response in the Haitian Earthquake Crisis of 2010 on Jan. 25. For more information on these events, visit the GW Today calendar.
“Our goal is to not only respond to the immediate needs of the Haitian people but to also create a long-term relief plan to address the many extensive problems that have arose out of this earthquake,” says Ms. Thelusma.