Newswise — Soon after receiving news of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12, University President Timothy R. Lannon, S.J., sent a message to the SJU community outlining how to support the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere during this crisis. His message was informed by a conversation he had with another member of the Jesuit community.
“Like many of you, I have been following the devastating aftereffects of the earthquake in Haiti,” Fr. Lannon wrote. “Today I spoke with Patrick Samway, S.J., who recently returned from a two-week stay in Haiti. He has been in contact with our fellow Jesuits in Port-au-Prince and has informed me about their situation.”
Professor of English Patrick Samway, S.J., spends from two to six weeks in Haiti each year. He has done so for the last twenty years, working mainly in local parishes, teaching university students and assisting at orphanages and hospitals run by the Missionaries of Charity – the congregation founded by Mother Teresa.
“Part of my heart is and will always be in Haiti,” said Fr. Samway, who left the country just six days before the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the capital, Port-Au-Prince, and its environs.
His experience there enables him to provide valuable perspective on the country’s needs, both in the aftermath of the earthquake and in the years ahead. “My gut tells me that we need to think long-term, especially in rebuilding the country’s infrastructure,” Samway said. “They need imaginative ideas for doing this, instead of reconstructing the same infrastructure that has proven inadequate.”
Samway also stressed the importance of developing Haiti’s educational opportunities as it moves forward. It is a recommendation SJU hopes to promote. According to Vice President of Mission and Identity Springs Steele, a program currently in the planning stages will be designed to provide educational assistance to the Haitian people.
“In the future, we hope to provide educational services and materials, such as grammar-school books in French, uniforms, chalk boards, notebooks, and potentially, even instructional support, since we have such great academic resources to draw from,” Steele said.
According to Samway, together with their Jesuit confreres in Latin America, Haitian Jesuits have recently started two new schools, which they hope will become part of a Jesuit system of education in Haiti. This new network of schools will be called in Creole “Lafwa ak kè kontan”— Faith and Joy.
“Education is a visible sign of progress in any community,” Samway added.
Background: Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851, Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pa., advances the professional and personal ambitions of men and women by providing a demanding, yet supportive, educational experience. One of only 139 schools with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and AACSB business school accreditation, Saint Joseph's is home to 4,200 full-time undergraduates and 3,100 graduate, part-time and doctoral students. Steeped in the 450-year Jesuit tradition of scholarship and service, Saint Joseph's was named to the 2008 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for General Community Service. The University strives to be recognized as the preeminent Catholic comprehensive university in the Northeast.
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