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Yves Voltaire to Talk September 9 About Earthquake Relief to Hai
The devastating January, 2010 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti resulted in approximately 100,000 deaths and the destruction of a large portion of Port-au-Prince, the capital and largest city in Haiti.
Following the earthquake numerous nations pledged medicine and money to rebuild Port-au-Prince and help the estimated 300,000 injured during the quake, and yet reports persist that the aid is not making a difference or even getting to the victims of the quake.
To help shed light on the relief efforts currently taking place in Haiti, CSU, Chico is bringing to campus Haitian sociologist and President of the Public University of Southern Haiti in Les Cayes, Professor Yves Voltaire.
Voltaire will give a talk Thursday., Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Harlen Adams Theatre entitled Haiti, From Destruction to Rebuilding. The talk is free and open to the public.
Joel Zimbelman, Dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, is looking forward to meeting Voltaire when he comes to Chico.
It is sometimes easy to forget what is happening in other parts of our world, and having Professor Voltaire in Chico to report from Haiti will provide us with essential information as we understand the political, social, and culture dynamics of this beleaguered country, said Zimbelman.
A native Haitian, Voltaire has been a catholic priest serving in Haiti since 1981. He has a PhD. in sociology, masters degrees in biblical theology and international studies, and a post graduate diploma in psychotherapy.
Voltaire is the founding pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Palliant Mount in southern Haiti. He supervising educational programs in his diocese which include 52 primary schools in rural areas, many of them affected by the earthquake.
One of the most important post-earthquake tasks Voltaire hopes to accomplish is the reforming and rebuilding of a Catholic College in the City of Miragone that was destroyed in the quake. The college specialized in law and education. Resurrection of that Institution is seen by Voltaire as vital for the future of Haitis nascent judiciary and educational systems.
While his duties are many in ministering to the day-to-day needs of parishioners, Voltaire stressed that college educated Haitians are the key to serving the long term ecological, economic, social and religious needs of Haitians.
Local Chicoans Jackie Johnson and her husband, Larry Catagnola met Voltaire while volunteers in Haiti in the late 1990s. They worked with him there and have remained friends.
We were extremely impressed by Yves commitment to the youth of Haiti and the suffering poor, Johnson said. He carried the weight of his responsibilities with an ease and grace that seemed hard to comprehend. He will bring a clear, intelligent and hopeful message to his audience here. Haitis future depends on continued awareness of not only its needs but its strengths and resources and Yves has a comprehensive understanding of both.
Voltaires visit to CSU, Chico is being coordinated by Kate McCarthy, Chico State Religious Studies faculty member.
The Religious Studies Dept is delighted to sponsor this visit -- it is so important for us to know about what is happening in Haiti and to understand the future of higher education in that country, noted McCarthy.
For more information, please contact McCarthy at 898-4485.
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