UPDATED: SU Community Committed to Helping Haiti’s College Catherine Flon Rebuild
SU continues its commitment to refurbish K-12 school College Catherine Flon in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. Follow updates as posted on Facebook, Twitter and the newly created SU Relief blog.
Scenes of devastation: images of the earthquake-destroyed College Catherine Flon flank a picture of President Tracy Fitzsimmons comforting Rachel Saint-Fort, who is the sister of SU students Cindy and Jerry Saint-Fort.
Read President Tracy Fitzsimmons "Death and Resurrection" on our newly created blog www.su-haiti-relief.blogspot.com
During Spring Break, President Tracy Fitzsimmons personally led a group of eight on a trip to Port-au-Prince, Haiti to assess the damage caused by the devastating earthquake on January 12 and determine how SU can help the country most effectively in the future. Cindy and Jerry Saint-Fort, a brother and sister from Haiti studying at SU, went along to be reunited with their family and serve as translators for the group. Other travelers to Haiti included: Mass Communication student Cody Penwell; Assistant Professor of Physician Assistant Studies Anne Schempp; Director of SU’s Physical Plant Gene Fisher; Ned Cleland, a structural engineer from Winchester; and Dr. Russell McKelway, a psychiatrist from Winchester.
The group assessed the condition of College Catherine Flon, a K-12 school in Carrefour, Haiti that was damaged by the earthquake. College Catherine Flon is owned and administered by the Saint-Fort’s father and their mother is a retired teacher who taught at the school. Shenandoah University is committed to refurbishing the school and restoring education to the surrounding community.
Become a fan of “Bricks and Books” on Facebook for all the latest news and updates as the Shenandoah University community helps with the rebuilding of the College Catherine Flon in Carrefour, Haiti.
During the trip, Cleland and Fisher surveyed what remains of buildings, Dr. McKelway met with hundreds of people who desperately need help with post-traumatic stress and depression, and Schempp offered medical aid. Fitzsimmons, who has lived, studied and worked in Haiti, met with officials, educators and others to gauge immediate and long-term needs. The objective was to assess how teams from Shenandoah might help rebuild the school over the years to come.
This was the first of a series of trips that SU will sponsor to Haiti. President Fitzsimmons is already making plans to return with another group in April. In the future, faculty and advanced health professions students will go travel to Haiti to support the work of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital and its field clinics. Other groups will continue to assist the College Catherine Flon in its rebuilding process.
All are welcome to join Shenandoah's efforts to rebuild the College Catherine Flon. Become a fan of “Bricks and Books” on Facebook for all the latest news and updates on this important project!