Fordham University has started relief efforts for the devastated community of Haiti. After an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale rocked Haiti on Jan. 12, several aftershocks further destroyed and devastated the country. It is estimated that over a 100,000 people are dead and 3 million others are affected, according to Felix Augustin, Haiti’s consul general to the United Nations (U.N), as reported by CNN.
People across the globe turned their attention to helping Haiti, as did Fordham University. In an e-mail sent to the Fordham community on Jan. 15, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University, stated that the University will be coordinating a plan of response and relief as the new semester starts. The Fordham Fund for Haiti was established by the University and will collect donations for the Catholic Relief Services and the Jesuit Refugee Services. Thomas Dunne, vice president for government relations and urban affairs, is spearheading Fordham’s aid efforts as the Fordham Haiti Relief Coordinator. More information on specific plans will become available as the semester commences.
Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) is also organizing out-reach efforts to students and administrators directly affected by the situation in Haiti. There will be an interfaith prayer service for Haiti on Jan. 20 at 2:30 p.m. in the Rupert Mayer Chapel, S.J. in Lowenstein room 221.
"We tried to contact family members with our cell phones, but nothing," said Kisha Claude, FCLC '10, of relatives trapped in Port-au-Prince, a city just over 10 miles away from the epicenter of the devastating earthquake. "The main tower that provided Haiti’s people with service also collapsed, so for a while people couldn’t get service,” Claude said. “Little by little relatives were contacting relatives, and like going through a grape vine, the information reached me that some family members made it, while others did not.” Claude is one of several Haitian American students at Fordham, where some students have been mobilizing relief efforts through text message donations. By the evening of Jan. 15, over 10 million dollars had been donated via text message, as reported by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. “It's hard to hear that Haiti is the poorest country in the Caribbean… [It’s] an island full of beauty, despite [its] on going struggle to remain afloat,” Claude said. “But with so little before, the country is left with pretty much nothing now. My only prayer is that this brings unity amongst the people of Haiti and sparks awareness across the world that this little country is dire need of a revival.”
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