{"id":19379,"date":"2011-01-12T10:13:23","date_gmt":"2011-01-12T15:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=19379"},"modified":"2021-01-08T11:08:37","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T16:08:37","slug":"one-year-later-ucf-helping-haiti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/one-year-later-ucf-helping-haiti\/","title":{"rendered":"One Year Later: UCF Helping Haiti"},"content":{"rendered":"
One year after a devastating earthquake, UCF\u2019s commitment to recovery efforts in Haiti remains strong.<\/p>\n
Led by the volunteer members of Task Force H.O.P.E., numerous projects during the past year \u2013 from collecting computer equipment and relief supplies to creating water purification systems and new ways of using mobile technology \u2013 have made a significant difference for the millions of people affected by the tragic 7.0-magnitude earthquake.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s still so much work to do, but we\u2019re making incredible progress,\u201d said Dr. Edwidge Crevecoeur-Bryant, a UCF education professor and member of the university\u2019s Task Force H.O.P.E., which stands for \u201cHealing, Outreach, Partnership and Education.\u201d<\/p>\n
The task force, established by President John C. Hitt and led by Vice President Al Harms, has shaped the UCF community\u2019s assistance in relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts to help the 1.5 million people left homeless after the earthquake and the thousands who escaped to Central Florida during the past year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe earthquake shattered many lives in Haiti and also had a tremendous impact on our local community,\u201d Harms said. \u201cThanks to the efforts of many dedicated, talented and generous people throughout the university, we are making a positive difference in providing access to education and improving the public health system in Haiti. \u201c<\/p>\n
UCF has partnered with many outside organizations to host donation and charity drives, pack meals to help feed children in Haiti, offer \u201con-the-ground\u201d medical aid, bring in expert speakers and even develop water filtration systems and smart phone technology for Haitian villagers, responders and educators. Many alumni remain active in recovery efforts in the local community and Haiti.<\/p>\n
Made up of students, faculty and staff members from across UCF, Task Force H.O.P.E. recently collected more than 100 surplus computer systems from the university to send to the villages of Leogane and Petit Goave in southern Haiti. The computers will give villagers access to the Internet and provide high-school students and adults with opportunities to use them to take literacy and technology classes.<\/p>\n
Crevecoeur-Bryant is developing courses in French literature, technology, English and Haitian Creole with technical support from Webcourses@UCF.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing what we can do when we all so generously work together for the benefit of others,\u201d said Crevecoeur-Bryant, who in from Haiti and is also working with other College of Education professors to establish service-learning projects with UCF and Haitian students.<\/p>\n
Keeping the Focus on Haiti<\/p>\n
UCF students mobilized quickly last year to provide aid to Haiti and to comfort and support their peers with family members living there. Those efforts have continued throughout 2010 and early 2011.<\/p>\n
To mark the one-year anniversary of the earthquake, student organizations Club Kreyol and the Caribbean Student Association will host a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. today, Jan. 12, by the Reflecting Pond outside Millican Hall.<\/p>\n
During the past year, a handful of College of Medicine<\/a> students traveled to Haiti, volunteering on the grounds of the Port-au-Prince Airport hospital, dispensing drugs, handling patient logistics, organizing blood donations and assisting with surgeries.<\/p>\n First-year UCF medical student Anika Mirick led efforts to bring leukemia patient Ginel Thermosey from Haiti to Orlando, where he continues to undergo treatment with help from the local community.<\/p>\n Other student groups, such as the International Medical Outreach chapters at UCF, are planning follow-up trips to Haiti to offer aid and improve public health.<\/p>\n Later this spring, UCF\u2019s EWB group is scheduled to deliver and install water cisterns in Mare Brignol, where villagers must walk up to seven hours each way to find fresh water. The cisterns and sand filtration systems, which were installed during a previous trip, will help prevent water-borne illnesses and provide closer, safer water sources.<\/p>\n Mobilizing Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n Shortly after the earthquake, Dr. Kevin Meehan, an English professor and the director of UCF\u2019s Haitian Studies Project, teamed up with researchers from UCF\u2019s Institute for Simulation & Training led by Dr. David Metcalf. Their goal is to use cell phones and smart phones to improve agencies\u2019 coordination on the ground and Haitian college students\u2019 access to online classes.<\/p>\n Partnering with the 海角直播 of Fondwa and the 海角直播 of Nouvelle Grand\u2019Anse in Haiti, the team presented its preliminary findings late last year to the National Science Foundation, which funded its work.<\/p>\n Meehan has taught long-distance, video-recorded world literature courses to students at the 海角直播 of Nouvelle Grand\u2019Anse. Metcalf and his team are developing ways that Haitian educators can offer college courses entirely on smart phones while universities continue to reconstruct their buildings and infrastructure.<\/p>\n