January 19, 2010
To the Dartmouth community:
Since last week's earthquake in Haiti, I have been astounded by our community's rapid response to this tragedy. Dartmouth people have come together, and they have reached out to their own networks. The result has been an outpouring of support from students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, and friends.
A team of nine doctors and nurses from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) is already on the ground providing direct care to earthquake victims at a Partners in Health (PIH) hospital in Hinche, Haiti. Another plane carrying 3,000 pounds of supplies landed in Port au Prince yesterday, and a second team of DHMC medical personnel departed from Lebanon, N.H., at 1 p.m. today. I am deeply grateful to these volunteers and the Dartmouth alumni and parents who provided the air transportation.
Dartmouth students have quickly mobilized, demonstrating that the world's troubles are their troubles. Through their organization, Students at Dartmouth for Haiti Relief (SDHR), they have raised more than $46,000 to date and are developing a long-term educational effort. Their vision is now serving as a national model, as students at other colleges and universities organize their own responses. I am so proud to see what our students are achieving through compassion, intellect, and hard work.
I have often commented on the unique spirit of collaboration at Dartmouth. Now, we are seeing how much we can accomplish by working together. While many other organizations are still trying to set relief efforts in motion, the alliance between Dartmouth College, Dartmouth Medical School, DHMC, and PIH has enabled us to quickly get help to where it is most needed. Regular updates on Dartmouth's response will be posted at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/features/haiti/index.html
Many of you have given to relief agencies, including PIH http://act.pih.org/page/outreach/view/haitiearthquake/DHR . I thank you for demonstrating such generosity even as we address financial challenges here in Hanover.
Through next week, Dartmouth is celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1963, King wrote that, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Our response to Haiti is focused on disaster relief, but we're also working to build social justice for a country that has been allowed to suffer without it for too long.
Sincerely,
President Jim Yong Kim
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