FPN News

FPN Meets With Haitian Ambassador

(l-r) Eileen Boyle, Allegany Franciscan Ministries; Ambassador Raymond Joseph; Maggie Osborn, Conn Memorial Foundation; David Biemesderfer, Florida Philanthropic Network.

Representatives of Florida Philanthropic Network met with Haiti's ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Raymond Joseph, in a small private meeting on February 18, 2010, to hear the ambassador's firsthand assessment of Haiti's short-term and long-term needs in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated the country in January.  The meeting was hosted by the David C. Anchin Center in the College of Education at the University of South Florida.  Meeting participants included Florida foundation officials , USF Provost Ralph Wilcox and other USF officials, and Haiti government officials.

In the meeting, Ambassador Joseph stated that Haitians must use the worldwide attention now focused on the country to rebuild Haiti in an effective and sustainable way, a process that could take up to 20 years.  "It's about time the world focuses on Haiti," Joseph told the group of 12 people in attendance at the meeting.  He urged everybody interested in rebuilding Haiti to "do it right" and "stay for the long haul."

As an example of the huge rebuilding efforts facing Haiti, Joseph noted that Haiti's higher education system was virtually wiped out by the earthquake, because nearly all of the country's colleges and universities were located in Port-au-Prince.  Haiti's higher education system will therefore need to be rebuilt from scratch, Joseph said, and this time it has to be decentralized.

Florida foundation representatives in attendance at the meeting were Eileen Boyle, president and CEO of Allegany Franciscan Ministries and a board member of FPN; Maggie Osborn, Grant Director for Conn Memorial Foundation; and David Biemesderfer, Vice President of FPN.  In the meeting, Biemesderfer shared with Ambassador Joseph FPN's summary of how Florida foundations and corporations have responded to support immediate relief and recovery efforts in Haiti to date, including financial support totaling nearly $24 million.  He also expressed the long-term commitment of Florida's philanthropic sector to help rebuild Haiti and to support Haitians living in Florida who have been impacted by the disaster.

Eileen Boyle reiterated Florida philanthropy's long-term commitment to Haiti, and explained how foundations across the state have strived to help the country in ways that fit with their missions.  To provide an example, she described how Allegany Franciscan Ministries has provided funding to Haiti in the area of health care, which is Allegany's funding focus.  Allegany provided financial support to Catholic Relief Services, Inc. in Baltimore, MD, to address immediate recovery and relief needs in Haiti and to Global Health Ministry, Inc. in Newtown Square, PA, for a GHM medical team and the rebuilding of Hospital St. Francis de Sale in Port-au-Prince, which has served the city's poor since 1881.

FPN will continue to document how Florida's grantmakers are responding to assist Haiti, and is also conducting longer-term research to study and document Florida grantmakers' responses to the 2010 Haiti earthquake and what can be learned for future disasters.