Although the earthquake that devastated Haiti occurred over 9 months ago, the citizens of the impoverished country remain in dire need of assistance just to survive on a daily basis. Things taken for granted in countries like the United States such as running water, several meals a day, basic medical care and places to sleep have become luxuries to the desperate citizens of Haiti. After hearing firsthand accounts of their tragedies, Judith Hanley '00 decided to help. In response to Haiti's continuing need, Hanley, academic administrator for the Sociology department; Cheryl Hansen, program administrator for the graduate programs in Sociology, and Katie Dalton, the former program administrator for Women's and Gender Studies at Brandeis, have continued to collect money and medical supplies throughout this academic year to benefit those affected by the catastrophe.

According to Hanley, no fundraisers have been held, but the three women have hada successful response to posters they put up around campus and e-mails they've sent to various faculty members that are then passed on, creating a network of people who are aware of the initiative to gather supplies for the Rasin Foundation to bring to Haiti. In addition, some donations have come from St. Mark's Church in Cambridge.

Money and medical supplies from various contributors around campus, mainly faculty, are given to Juneau Guerrier, who both inspired Hanley and made her aware of the existence of the Rasin Foundation. A cheerful Haitian man who works for the Department of Mail Services, Guerrier gives the donations to his sister-in-law Dr. Arielle Adrien, who is a member of the Rasin Foundation. In addition to being a member of the relief organization, Adrien, born in Haiti, is a physician and professor of Medicine at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain, Mass.

Founded in 2004, the Rasin Foundation is "composed of various volunteer medical professionals dedicated to helping those in need of assistance in rural Haiti," according to Adrien. Every month this year except July, the Rasin medical team has made a trip to the small clinic it built shortly after the earthquake in the coastal city of Leogane, Haiti, very near the epicenter of the disaster. The clinic was originally to be a much larger structure than what now stands, but the earthquake in January forced workers to expedite its completion as need suddenly rose. Guerrier, who is also a member of the Rasin Foundation, said, "It is not a big organization, but we do our part."

Instead of asking for cash donations for the trip that Adrien's medical team will take to Haiti in late November, Hanley and Hansen have focused on collecting basic sanitary and medical supplies such as vitamins, gauze, sanitary products for women, soap, gloves, antibacterial wipes, bandages, toothpaste, shampoo and Tylenol. Hanley said she did not really keep track of where exactly donations came from, although most items were donated by faculty and students.

Hanley, who started the initiative, said that while she was touched by the massive amount of human suffering in Haiti, Guerrier ultimately motivated her to begin collecting aid. Coming into contact with Guerrier on an almost- daily basis when he made deliveries to the Sociology department, Hanley learned of his tragic story and decided that she wanted to do something to help.

"His family could have been wiped out," Hanley said, "yet he would come to work, and this incredibly decent gentlemen would come everyday, bearing his sorrow but always with a kind word and always so respectful of other people. . I felt compelled to do something---any small thing."

That is where Guerrier's connection to the Rasin Foundation came in to play, and Hanley determined that she would start an initiative that would stock the clinic in Leogane with medical supplies.

Although Adrien's medical team is not always present at the clinic in rural Leogane, a full-time nurse, a nursing assistant, a community health worker and an interpreter staff the clinic year round.

"Every time we go, we see about 400 people, and they are patients with all sorts of problems, not simple ones. They have diabetes and [high] blood pressure like you have never seen in your life, yet they are walking and talking [and] not on any medication," Adrien says

The medical team plans to visit Leogane again in late November, at which point it will deliver the most recent batch of supplies that Hanley, Hansen and Dalton worked to collect. "These goods last, and they are able to dole them out for a while," Hanley said.

Adrien spoke about the danger Haitians in Leogane face on a daily basis in an interview with the Justice. "Whatever they have that they called a house no longer exists. . They are living in tents, and there's really no relief in sight," she said. She also noted that getting medical attention was hard enough before the earthquake and that assistance would now be virtually inaccessible in a rural area like Leogane if not for the Rasin clinic. According to the Rasin website, an estimated 90 percent of Leogane was destroyed, and around 300,000 people lost their lives in the area.

Because every member of the Rasin Foundation is an unpaid volunteer, each dollar that is donated to the organization goes directly to the clinic in Leogane and to the people who have had their lives disrupted most by the disaster.

The Rasin Foundation also works in collaboration with the Boston-Haiti Health Support team and Partners in Health, an organization founded by Paul Farmer in 1987 that does work around the world similar to that of the Rasin Foundation with a bigger budget and a larger staff. Farmer received an honorary degree from the University in May for his international work as a physician and humanitarian. Unlike these organizations, Rasin is funded almost entirely by donations and has no major funders other than board members.

Guerrier's sister had just arrived in Haiti when the earthquake struck, and in the 5 days following the catastrophe he received no word from her or any other members of his family. "It was a frightening moment. . I have never experienced this type of thing before. At night I couldn't sleep," Guerrier recalled.

As it turned out, Guerrier's sister was not harmed in the earthquake, but he did lose 11 other members of his family in the catastrophe.

"It was very hard. . Life continues, but those memories stay with you," Guerrier said, who moved to the U.S. over 20 years ago and has worked in the mail department at Brandeis for 3 years. Most of his family remains in Haiti.

Although students from the Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies program, as well as the Social Justice and Social Policy program have participated in spreading the word about the initiative on the Brandeis campus to gather supplies, Hansen, Hanley and Dalton have shouldered most of the work. "This is something that was from me, [Hanson] and [Dalton]," Hanley said.

These supplies have been of enormous importance for Adrien and the rest of the Rasin medical team. "Brandeis University responded amazingly to the plight of the people in Leogane," Adrien said, "[The collection] would not have been possible without their energy and determination to help."

Hanley said that four boxes of medical supplies have been collected at press time, but with several weeks to go before the trip, she is hoping that the response will be even greater from the Brandeis community this time around. "It might be 10 boxes, it might be more," Hanley said, "It's hard to say." Small posters bearing the blue and red background of the Haitian flag are still visible around campus, imploring anyone who is able to give.

"Brandeis has been amazing," Guerrier said. Still, he emphasized that there is still a great deal of suffering in Haiti and that there is more to be done. "We have a long way to go," Guerrier said.

"It is difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel," said Adrien. She continued, "It's very sad, and I like to think there's hope, but it's going to take a very concerted effort."

Donations are still being collected in Pearlman 201, and anyone-students and faculty alike- are strongly encouraged to spread the word about the initiative and donate whatever they are able for use on the medical mission in late November.