On Wednesday, Loyola commemorated the one-year anniversary of the 2010 Haiti earthquake with a prayer service featuring live Haitian music in Ignatius Chapel.
Last year, on Jan. 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated the nation of Haiti, displacing over one million of its residents and killing about 230,000. The destruction caused massive damage to the infrastructure of Haiti and elicited a major humanitarian aid response from many other countries, non-profit organizations, and even students and faculty here at Loyola. However, a complete recovery is still far off in the future, and Haiti and its people are still coping with the effects of the disaster.
The Haiti prayer service on Wednesday was coordinated by Ken Weber of University Mission and Ministry and music therapy senior Riva Precil as a way to continue to generate awareness for the struggle of Haitians in the aftermath of the tragic event. Besides live music and prayer, the service featured handwritten letters sent by earthquake victims currently living in tents in Haiti and a reflection on the disaster given by Precil.
“The purpose is to facilitate continued prayer for the people of Haiti, who are still struggling to meet basic needs of life. Hopefully, the prayer service will raise awareness of the continuing plight of the people of Haiti, and will inspire us all to do what we can to continue to help, either by donations or prayers or both,” said Weber.
“We have an important Haitian student community here at Loyola, and the one-year anniversary of the earthquake evokes in all of us a desire to respond with compassion and prayerful support of them and of all who are suffering in Haiti.”
This event is just the latest of several efforts by Loyola and its student community to raise aid and awareness for the plight of Haiti over the last year. Past endeavors include a task force named “A Hope for Haiti,” created in January 2010 by the university as a way to generate a response from the Loyola community with events, fundraisers and spiritual support.
According to Weber, the inspiration for the prayer service came mostly from the students, especially Precil, who has been very active in generating support for Haiti by organizing events such as the benefit concert and art performance “Ayiti Cheri,” which means “Haiti Beloved.”
“As a Haitian native, it is my responsibility to raise awareness of Haiti’s devastating situation,” said Precil.
Precil hopes that Wednesday’s prayer service will spark introspection and action within Loyola’s Haitian community and encourage members of the student body to remember and assist the struggling people of Haiti.
“I think this event is extremely important for the Haitian community here at Loyola, especially since our families are still living in Haiti. We need to be more involved and proactive since we have more opportunities than those who aren’t as fortunate to be in the positions we are in,” Precil said.
“I hope people will be moved enough to want to do something and make a difference. Hopefully it will open some eyes and hearts and inspire some, even if only a few, to help others in need and be thankful for what have.”
David Scheuermann
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A referendum on independence in southern Sudan began on Monday.
The vote, which is likely to lead to the world’s newest nation, is the culmination of a 2005 peace deal that ended a north-south civil war that lasted two decades and killed 2 million people.
Almost 4 million voters were registered over the last several months, including 116,000 southerners who live in north Sudan and 60,000 in eight other countries, including the U.S.
Southerners are expected to vote overwhelmingly for secession. The referendum needs 50 percent plus one vote to pass, along with a 60 percent turnout of registered voters.
The north is mostly Arabic- speaking and Muslim, while the south is populated by black Africans who are mostly Christian and animist. They began fighting in the 1960s, after Sudan gained independence from joint British-Egyptian control in 1956. (Associated Press)
