Haiti Touches Home for Many at Einstein

Alex Pyronneau was just a year old when he visited Haiti with his parents. While he does not recall anything from his visit there, the second-year MSTP student is regularly in touch with the extended family members that still live in Port-au-Prince. In recent days, e-mails and phone calls have gone back and forth as he and his parents learned which family members were safe and who was missing following the catastrophic earthquake that struck Haiti last week.

Haiti earthquake aftermath: Two children in a camp located
on the fringes of Delmas 2 district in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Photo credit: EPA/FRANZ SMETS/Corbis“My father’s brother is still among the missing and, while we hold out hope, with each passing day those hopes grow dimmer,” he said on Tuesday, January 19, before taking the stage with the Einstein Jazz Ensemble. The popular band performed a benefit concert for the Einstein community, sponsored by Einstein’s Global Health Center, to help raise funds as part of the medical school’s overall efforts to lend the support and aid that is so very direly needed in Haiti. Students also have organized a money drive, bake sale, and collection bins for canned goods, clothing and medical supplies. They will be selling t-shirts as well, and conducting a “spare change” coin drive, which will further supplement their fundraising efforts.

Thus far, they’ve collected nearly $10,000, which will support Partners in Health, the not-for-profit health organization established by Dr. Paul Farmer, a speaker at Einstein’s recent global health symposium. Both students and faculty from Einstein have ties with Dr. Farmer’s organization; Partners in Health has been providing healthcare services throughout Haiti for more than 20 years, as well as in other developing countries, and is well-established in the island nation. His organization is considered among the best-equipped to provide care to those who are in need of it.

“Arrived in Port-au-Prince on Mon. 1-18-2010 and got to see, hear and feel what Hell on earth is...”

-- Roger Duvivier, M.D.Even so, Dr. Farmer was quoted in a New York Times article on Thursday, January 21 concerning the grim circumstances facing those who have arrived to help administer care to the countless injured and displaced individuals. He noted the need to unify the disparate aid efforts, saying, “Everyone’s doing their own thing, and we need to bring them together.”

Among those witnessing the horrific aftermath of the earthquake firsthand is Dr. Roger Duvivier, a member of the Einstein faculty and of the class of 1974. Dr. Duvivier headed to Haiti to help with the relief effort as well as to see to his mother, sisters, brother and extended family. He shared via e-mail, “Arrived in Port-au-Prince on Mon. 1-18-2010 and got to see, hear and feel what Hell on earth is.  The devastation, destruction, death and suffering  are overwhelming and seem to me beyond what common mortals or all the powers of the world combined will be able to handle or manage in months or years to come.”

Fortunately for Dr. Duvivier, his family members, numbering more than 30, are all safe and looking to evacuate from Port-au-Prince to safer territory. For other members of the Einstein community, the news was not as encouraging. Anne Johnson, a member of Einstein’s engineering office staff, and Dr. Mahalia Desruisseaux, a member of Einstein’s infectious disease faculty, both received news that relatives had perished.

Ms. Johnson grew up in the States and last visited Haiti as a young girl. Although she and her parents tried to reach family right away, it was not until Friday, January 15 that they learned two cousins (on her mother’s side) had been killed in the quake. As recently as January 20, four members from her father’s side of the family were still not accounted for; as a result, Ms. Johnson would search the images on television to see if she recognized her family’s neighborhood, hoping for a glimpse of missing family members.

“I hear the stories of someone still being found alive and think maybe there’s some chance for my relatives. There are so many possibilities that run through my mind,” she said. “Our family has land four hours from Port-au-Prince, but the roads may not be passable. There’s a house out there and if they can get there, there’s a place they can be safe. I just keep hoping it’s possible.”

Collection bin on the Einstein
campusOn January 21, 2010, she and her family were delivered good news:  All four of the missing family members are alive and well.  “When I found out I cried with my co-workers, but these were tears of joy.”

Dr. Desruisseaux was born in Haiti and came to the United States at age 12. The earthquake destroyed her childhood home in Petion-Ville, where family members still lived. She lost her aunt, a 28-year-old cousin, and her cousin’s son. She recalled, “I’ve become an insomniac since the earthquake happened. I felt so sick and helpless watching the 24/7 news coverage and seeing the devastation that occurred in the entire capital. I was really struck seeing the Palais National in ruins. After not having been back in 24 years, I felt a strong urge to return and be part of a medical relief effort.”

Dr. Desruisseaux left on January 21 to fulfill that urge, and arrives in Haiti on Friday, January 22. Prior to her departure, she assisted the Einstein students organizing the various fundraising and aid efforts on campus. “I think that the medical students at Einstein are such an amazing group to put this whole effort together because there is such an urgent, desperate need for help with medical and surgical supplies, and monetary support.”

Ms. Johnson agreed. “I can’t put into words how appreciative I am of the effort here at Einstein,” she said. “You feel powerless to do anything and the way everyone has come together gives you the sense that you’re not alone, that people care. It’s a wonderful feeling.”

As the Einstein community and other institutions and individuals throughout the world offer their support, Dr. Duvivier’s description of Hell on earth serves as a poignant reminder of our continuing need to keep the people of Haiti and their plight close at heart. His parting words also strike a chord: “The fate of the 9 to 10 million poor is quite uncertain. Keep them in your prayers.”

Anyone wishing to donate to Einstein’s Haiti Earthquake Relief effort can visit the College of Medicine’s donation page in support of Partners in Health. Those individuals on the Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus also can make donations of canned goods, clothing, and/or medical supplies at the bins located in the lobbies of the Leo Forchheimer Medical Science Building, the Arthur B. and Diane Belfer Educational Center for Health Sciences, Michael F. Price Center for Genetic and Translational Medicine/Harold and Muriel Block Research Pavilion, and 1925/1935 and 1945 Eastchester housing.

Post Script: As we finalized this feature for posting, we learned of additional members of the Einstein community who have been touched personally by the tragedy in Haiti. Our apologies to anyone we have not mentioned; our heartfelt prayers are with you all.