Program Aims To Raise Awareness About — and Relief Funds For — Haiti

Yale students and staff will have the opportunity to learn more about the country of Haiti — and donate to relief efforts there — during Yale Haiti Week, a special series of events taking place Monday-Saturday, Feb. 22-27.

Guest lecturers, art exhibitions and a Haitian film festival are among the events during Yale Haiti Week, which is sponsored by the Yale for Haiti Collaborative.

Below is a schedule of Yale Haiti Week events. For further information, visit www.opa.yale.edu/haiti/week.htm.

Monday, Feb 22 — noon-1 p.m.: Yale professor Lillian Guerra will discuss “History, Politics and Economics of Haiti” in the Presidents’ Room, Woolsey Hall, corner of Grove and College streets.

6:30-8 p.m.: A presentation will be given by Jenifer Grant, daughter of the founders of Hospital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti, in Rm. 114 of Sheffield-Sterling-Strathchona Hall, 1 Prospect St.

Tuesday, Feb. 23 — noon-1 p.m.: A brown bag lunch discussion on “Health and Health Care in Haiti” will feature Denise Walsh, a member of the Global Health Leadership Institute at Yale, in the Presidents’ Room, Woolsey Hall. A former deputy director with the Clinton Foundation in Liberia, she traveled to Haiti immediately after the disaster to support pharmacy operations at the General Hospital in Port au Prince.

6-7:30 p.m.: Yale alumnus Elizabeth McAlister, associate professor at Wesleyan University and an expert on Afro-Caribbean religions, will discuss “The Politics of Religion and the Haiti Earthquake: Theology, Missions, Adoptions and Aid” at the Thomas E. Golden Jr. Center at Saint Thomas More - The Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale, 268 Park St.

Wednesday, Feb. 24 — 10-11 a.m.: The Yale Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., will offer a guided tour of selected pieces of Haitian art. Space is limited to 25 people.

Noon-1 p.m., Robert Lamothe ‘77, a native of Haiti who teaches Haitian Creole at Yale and is a member of the Yale for Haiti Collaborative, will discuss “Culture, Language, Art and Architecture” in the Presidents’ Room, Woolsey Hall.

7-9 p.m.: An evening panel lecture on “Sustainable Development in Haiti” will feature Marie Marthe Saint Cyr, president of the Lambi Fund, in Burke Auditorium of Kroon Hall, 195 Prospect St.

Friday, Feb. 26 — 10-11 a.m.: The Yale University Art Gallery will offer a guided tour of selected pieces of Haitian art. Space is limited to 25 people.

10 a.m.-6 p.m.: Haitian art, provided by Haiti’s Back Porch and Haitian Ministries Office of the Diocese of Norwich and the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, will be exhibited and for sale at the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS), 421 Temple St.

Noon-1 p.m.: Dr. Gregory Larkin, team leader for the Yale medical team that went to Haiti earlier this month, will take part in a brown bag lunch discussion in the Presidents’ Room, Woolsey Hall.

4-6 p.m.: Haitian food and music will be offered at the close of the art sale and exhibit at OISS.

The Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project (YHHAP) and Yale for Haiti will host a Fast for Haiti. Students may donate their meal swipes on Friday at www.yale.edu/sis, clicking on “Dining,” then “YHHAP sign-ups” and clicking “yes.”

Saturday, Feb. 27 — 11 a.m.-5 p.m.: A Haitian film festival will take place at the Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. Featured films include “Looking for Life,” (1999, in Creole and French with English subtitles), “The Agronomist” (2003) and “On the Verge of a Fever” (2004, in French with English subtitles).

8 p.m.: A Caribbean festival and American Party hosted by the Bob Lamothe Blues Band will take place at GPSCY, 204 York St.

See the website listed above for further details on Haiti Week.