Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: News

Junior Conor O'Rourke with some of the children he has worked with on his many summer trips to Haiti.

The earthquake in Haiti that killed an estimated 150,000 people and left another 1.5 millin homeless has sparked people all over the world to get involved, and Wittenberg is sponsoring its own relief efforts through fraternities and other campus activities. Conor O'Rourke is one of the main voices at Wittenberg getting involved in the Haiti recovery process. There is no doubt that O'Rourke has a deep and caring connection with the country. He has traveled to Haiti five times; his first trip came when he was 16 years old to work with kids in schools and camps through the Project Pierre Toussaint organization in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, a city 75 miles North of the capital. He returned every summer after that but "unfortunately couldn't go this past year," he said.

Returning every year to Haiti and working with kids who were extremely disadvantaged was something that O'Rourke kept close to his heart.

"There were many kids whose parents couldn't take care of them," he said. "I played basketball and soccer with them at [these] camps."

Classroom re-building was also a big activity O'Rourke participated in throughout the years. A major point, he says, is that the country was in so much need before the earthquake that Haiti has come to complete catastrophic ruin in the aftermath.

"People are now paying attention to Haiti. It's terrible that it had to come to this point," he said.

O'Rourke was at Wittenberg when the earthquake struck on January 12.

"I was getting out of practice and checked my voicemail and [my parents] told me," O'Rourke recalled. "All of my kids were fine, no one was severely injured."

Involvement in helping Haiti recover is something that O'Rourke feels Wittenberg can easily get involved with. Delta Tau Delta fraternity is sponsoring a St. Patrick's Day Potato Mash and Wittmen Crew and Just Eve singing groups are performing, donating all proceeds to to CRUDEM Hospital Sacre Coeur in Milot, Haiti, where free health care is provided.

O'Rourke said that the history of the U.S.-Haiti relationship hasn't shown the best balance of power.

Current U.S. government relief "makes me slightly nervous" O'Rourke said. "But I think right now the [U.S.] focus is on helping the people of Haiti."

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