News Release

UDM Faculty Discuss Volunteer Work in Haiti

University of Detroit Mercy is hosting a Haiti School Inspection Team Report presentation on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at 5 p.m. in the new Genevieve Fisk Loranger Architecture Center on the McNichols Campus.

UDM and the Jesuit Relief Service were responsible for organizing teams of volunteers to inspect damaged schools in Port au Prince in conjunction with Haiti’s Ministry of Education for safety issues. UDM Architecture professor Gilbert Sunghera, S.J. and civil & environmental engineering professor Alan Hoback, along with UDM alumna Marie Haener-Patti will be leading the presentation, focusing on their experiences in Haiti. The team members had to complete an online training program as a preparation tool conducted by Hoback.

Two teams, consisting of UDM Architecture and Engineering alumni and faculty, inspected 55 schools over a period of two weeks in March. Fifteen percent of these schools were damaged beyond repair, and only 60 percent of the schools were considered partially usable. There were 4,700 total schools that needed to be assessed so Haitian children could return to them. There were also many other schools that needed work as well that were not registered. It became apparent that there was a lot of damage in the schools before the earthquake including poor electricity and water issues.

Haiti Fr. Sunghera is a consultant for architectural design and faculty member at UDM. He received his BA at the University of California, Irvine focused in Environmental Psychology. His Masters Degree is in Architecture from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Before entering the Jesuit community, he worked for three years as an architectural designer. He was ordained in 2002 and has been expanding his knowledge on the relationship between religion and architecture. His spirituality and architectural experience is what made him have a deep connection with the Haiti relief trip. While Sunghera and his group were able to accomplish the tasks they were assigned to do, it is unclear if they will be need to return to Haiti.

Brother Jim Boynton who was a fellow volunteer on the trip explained, “Downtown Port- au- Prince is still like a war zone. Banks, businesses, and religious institutions have been hit hard, or in some cases mortally wounded. For the first few weeks with our team, I had an inside look at the challenges faced by the health system and by those who had immediate needs of food and shelter. Now, working with the Foi et Joie School network, I am able to see the long-term damage done to the educational system.”

For photos of the trip, visit the website: http://eng-sci.udmercy.edu/programs/eng/civil-environmental/haiti.htm

The talk is free and open to the public with a small reception after the presentation.

Release date: April 13, 2010

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