Wittenberg Student Pursues Passion Serving Victims Of Haitian Earthquake

Conor O’Rourke ’11 has made multiple service trips to Haiti in recent years. After the devastating earthquake in January that killed more than 200,000 people and left more than one million homeless, O’Rourke organized campus fundraisers and pledged to return to the Caribbean nation as soon as possible. What follows is his first-person account of his summer 2010 service trip to Haiti.

Bonjour from Milot, Haiti,

---

Conor O'Rourke '11 with Dove, A patient at CRUDEM-Hospital Sacre Couer in Milot, Haiti

I am working at CRUDEM-Hopital Sacre Coeur, one of the most state-of-the-art and efficient hospitals in Haiti. I have been working primarily on developing infrastructure for the hospital by installing renewable energy sources like solar power to generate the fresh water pumps for the hospital and the town of Milot. One of my other jobs that I find very rewarding is working alongside the physical and occupational therapists to assist them with their dozens of patients. I have recently built walkers for many children who need them, but the equipment is too big. It is all definitely outside my area of expertise, but I have been appointed as a sort of volunteer coordinator, attempting to find room in our small compound for 70 volunteers.

One child I helped was a two-year-old boy named Jamesly, who has such a severe case of Tuberculosis that it has spread to his spine and prevented him from walking. I was asked to fashion a miniature walker, and within a day Jamesly was walking all around the hospital. It is amazing and humbling to see my work put to use to help another person.

As you know, Haiti was devastated by a massive earthquake on Jan. 12. Since most of the hospitals in Port-Au-Prince were destroyed in the earthquake, many patients were brought here by the United States Coast Guard for treatment. Many of the victims of the earthquake suffered serious pressure damages to their limbs and often required amputation. Thanks to the hard work of many Haitian and American surgeons, as well as prosthetists and physical therapists, nearly all of the amputees have received prosthetic legs and are well on their way to walking again on their own and getting back to a normal life.

One such girl is named Dove. She is nine years old and a victim of the quake in Port-au-Prince. She had lost her right leg after her house collapsed on top of her. Despite her tragic story, Dove received a new leg just a week ago, and she is re-learning how to walk. Seeing Dove every day is the highlight of my trip here. Her smile, spirit, strength and optimism is a privilege to be around. She instantly each day restores my faith in humanity and the power of the human spirit.

This is my fifth trip to Haiti, having previously worked with street children in the nearby city of Cap-Haitien. The last few times I came to volunteer here, I was running a soccer and basketball camp for those kids. This is a very different experience at the hospital and has provided me endless opportunity to help, and also to learn from the Haitian people and to grow as a person.

I have been taking Creole lessons with some local guys. We have our lessons at the bar up the street after our daily basketball game. My Creole teachers, Hyppolite and Jackie, are awesome guys. They have invited me and a friend to Jackie’s daughter’s baptism, and they have been showing us the Haiti only Haitians see and live.

They offered to take us out to dinner after we missed dinner at the compound one night. We arrived at a roadside shack with a small lantern and a small table. We sat down for our Haitian meal, only to be served boiled cow skin in a spicy sauce. I almost threw up at least three times. But, to be polite, I choked it down. They have been treating us like family, and we refer to each other as “fre mwen,” which means my brother. Glad to make great local friends here, it makes it so easy to become a part of the community. Rather than being just another white guy in town, most people know my name, and if they don’t, they just call me “tet kale” (bald head).

I wanted to thank everyone for donating and helping with payments for this trip. Without it, I couldn’t pursue my passions and work my hardest here in Haiti.