Check this page frequently for updated
information concerning Haverford's response to Hurricanes Stan
and Katrina. Please send any information, corrections, or updates
to Steve Heacock at sheacock@haverford.edu.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Haverford Students
Organize Guatemalan Relief Effort
Already impoverished and still suffering from the horrors of
a 36 year civil war, the Mayan villagers of a small community
called Panabaj have yet another reason to mourn. Last week,
landslides caused by Hurricane Stan wiped out Panabaj, burying
more than 500 people. By the weekend, the government abandoned
its recovery efforts. “Panabaj no longer exists,”
Mayor Diego Esquina told reporters, and the town was declared
a mass grave.
More than six thousand residents
of Santiago and Panabaj are now homeless. They are crowded into
shelters – church floors and municipal buildings. These
villagers have lost everything – family members, homes
and modest possessions. Its villagers suffer, fearful of what
is to come, but resigned to their fate in a world that doesn’t
seem to care.
Students and faculty at Haverford
College do care. They have developed an intimate relationship
with the residents of Panabaj. For the past five years, political
science professor Anita Isaacs has been working with the widows
and orphans of Panabaj. Her students have learned about Panabaj
through first hand experiences in the field. With the support
of Haverford’s Center for Peace and Global Citizenship,
some twenty students accompanied her on a field trip to the
community in March 2004. Students continue to build on the relationship
between Haverford and Panabaj through travel and correspondence.
Since the tragedy, Haverford
students have mobilized to raise awareness and funding for the
Panabaj relief effort. From selling Guatemalan handicrafts to
trick-or-treating for Panabaj, from establishing relationships
with local businesses to personally delivering blankets and
other essentials to Panabaj, student efforts at Haverford have
gained coverage from the Philadelphia Inquirer, the BBC, and
Telemundo. Working in cooperation with the American Friends
Service Committee, an account has been established to specifically
aid in the Panabaj relief effort. Students and faculty at Haverford
are committed to aiding in the short-term relief and long-term
reconstruction efforts. Please do join us by donating
or contacting us at aisaacs@haverford.edu
Haverford Offers Enrollment
to Students Displaced by Hurricane Katrina
Haverford has been able to accommodate all displaced students
who have expressed an interest in attending Haverford for fall
semester 2005.
As of September 12, five students
have been enrolled — four from Xavier University and one
from Tulane University. Tuition will be redirected to the home
institutions to aid the rebuilding and restoration efforts there.
new!
Hurricane Relief Party
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22nd 8-11pm TRIUMPH ROOM
Join Haverford, Brown, and Duke Alumni in the New York area
at the Triumph Room for drinks, socializing and dancing to aid
the victims of Hurricane Katrina. A $10 cover, all of which
will be donated to the American Red Cross, will be collected.
Once inside enjoy $5 drinks and $4 beers for as long as the
DJ's spinning! Please encourage all co-workers and friends to
come out and support the cause!
The Triumph Room located at W. 57th
St. between 8th and 9th (www.triumphroom.com)
is easily accessible by the A, B, C, D, and 1 trains at Columbus
Circle.
Haverford Alumni Runners
to Support Katrina Relief Efforts
On Friday, September 16, and Saturday,
September 17, two teams of 12 Haverford alumni runners will
be participating in a 207-mile relay race from the White Mountains
of New Hampshire to the Atlantic (Hampton Beach, NH) to raise
funds to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
This will be the sixth time the Haverford
Alumni Honor Goats have participated in the Reach the Beach
relay (www.rtbrelay.com).
In the past, this race has been a great opportunity for Haverford
runners to reunite, be part of the team again, run hard, and
enjoy beautiful New Hampshire during the peak of its fall colors.
However, this year, in response to the
devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the team has decided
to use the race as a vehicle to raise funds and awareness to
help the victims of Katrina. All funds raised will be
donated to the American Friends Service Committee in their efforts
to provide short and long term relief to help rebuild communities
and restore lives of those people who have been
impacted by the hurricane.
The team is really looking forward
to the race. We are trying to improve from last year's 3rd place
finish (out of 250 teams). However, more importantly, the runners
are excited that this year they will not only have a great and
exhausting time running through New Hampshire but they will
also be able to provide some assistance to the people impacted
by the hurricane.
If you would like to
learn more about the team or make a pledge per mile or other
donation to the AFSC, please e-mail Sam McFerran '98 at smcferra@aol.com
or call him at (202) 294-5437.
Students are organizing “Rock
For Relief”
A silent auction/all-day concert to benefit the American Red
Cross and victims of Hurricane Katrina. Founders Green (rain
location: Founders Great Hall)
Sunday, September 25th 1-5 PM
Questions: hleichte@haverford.edu
Haverford Students to Collect
Money, Materials to Aid Katrina Survivors
Haverford College students have joined together to raise funds
and materials to aid the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. The
drive is jointly sponsored by the Haverford College Democrats,
the Haverford College Republicans, and Honor
Council. In addition, funds were raised at several athletic
events on campus over the past several days.
Haverford Facilities Management
Team to Aid Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort
Haverford will send a team of skilled tradespeople and supplies
to a Gulf Coast college or university in the near future to
help with repair and reconstruction projects there.
Haverford's Eight Dimension
to Help Katrina Relief Effort Over Fall Break
Haverford College's Eighth
Dimension, the student volunteer program, will reach at
least one destination in the Gulf Coast with its Housing Outreach
Action Program (HOAP) trip during fall break, October 8 - 16.
For more information, please contact
Marilou Allen at (610) 896-1183.
EgoPo,
a New Orleans-based theater company, led by artistic director
Lane Savadove '89, is presenting an innovative double production
of Jean Genet's "The Maids" at the International House
at the University of Pennsylvania through September 12 as part
of the Philadelphia
Fringe Festival. Most of the company have lost their homes
and jobs, so please come support them at the Fringe Festival.
The price of admission ($15) gets you one of the last bottles
of Abita, a New Orleans-brewed beer and locally produced chips,
and the cast serves up a Cajun dinner between the shows.
