RWDSU Takes Part in Haiti School Rebuilding Efforts (5/12/10)

UFCW VP/Executive Assistant to the President Christyne Neff and RWDSU Organizer Joseph Dorismond  (right) present a donation check to Dr. Rodrigue Mortel, founder of the Mortel Family Foundation.

The world was shocked by the images and stories that poured out of Haiti after the January 12 earthquake that devastated the island nation. As the numbers of dead, injured, and homeless mounted, so did the worldwide efforts to help the estimated three million people affected by the quake.

Shortly after the devastating earthquake, the UFCW Executive Board established the Haiti Relief Project to help rebuild Haiti’s battered school system. RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum and RWDSU Organizer Joseph Dorismond were among the UFCW officers and staff chosen to serve on the board overseeing the relief project, and RWDSU locals were among the dozens of UFCW locals to donate funds. 

According to Dorismond, who still has family in Haiti and knows all too well the poverty and hardship faced by Haitians even before the earthquake, the Haiti Relief Project will be a key part in rebuilding the country.

“Close to 250,000 lives were lost in this tragedy, and rebuilding is going to be a long, hard struggle. Education is a number one priority, and by making these donations the UFCW and RWDSU are playing an important role. Every child's life we touch represents a lighted candle for those we lost, for these children are the future of my country,” Dorismond said.

Dorismond and fellow Haiti native UFCW Local 888 President Max Bruny researched and recommended the Mortel Family Charitable Foundation and Hope for Haiti as partners in the UFCW’s charity efforts.

“We met with these organizations and we were impressed with their work in Haiti,” Dorismond said.

The UFCW Haiti Relief Fund has raised over $430,000 to aid the efforts of the organizations. Through the Mortel Family Charitable Foundation, UFCW funds will support the building of a computer lab and library at a high school in St. Marc, Haiti, an area where thousands of Haitians have migrated since the quake.

Through Hope for Haiti, the UFCW will help rebuild the computer lab and library at St. Francois de Sales in the neighborhood of Riviere Froide, commune of Carrefour, Port-au-Prince, the area hardest hit by the disaster.

“Haiti needs these schools more than ever, and I’m proud of the work my union is doing to help” Dorismond added.