Community Experts to Discuss Water and Environmental Issues for Haiti

A public forum to discuss broad solutions to the water crisis in developing countries, such as Haiti, takes place 6:30-8:30 p.m. Nov. 12 in the Center for Student Innovation and Creativity at Rochester Institute of Technology. The program is free and open to the public.

The evening will open with a discussion by a panel of community development experts, including Rose Marie Cherici, chair of the anthropology department, SUNY Geneseo and executive director of Haiti Outreach Pwoje Espwa; Thony Voltaire, M.D., medical director of the Alyans Sante Borgne (Borgne Health Alliance), Borgne, Haiti; Michael Shields, chief executive officer, e-Logic, and chairman of the board of HOPE; Megan Lee, research assistant, Alyans Sante Borgne; and James Myers, director of the Center for Multidisciplinary Studies, RIT. Audience members will be asked to participate in an “innovation exercise” to develop a variety of solutions to the water development situation in the area.

Haiti Outreach Pwoje Espwa is a local non-profit agency that serves the community of Borgne, Haiti in the areas of health care, education and economic development. HOPE focuses on water sanitation and distribution in an area that has limited or no clean water resources nearby and has seen a marked increase in water-borne illnesses and disease among the population.

WHAT: Public Forum: Water Crisis in Developing Countries

WHERE: Center for Student Innovation, Rochester Institute of Technology

WHEN: 6:30–8:30 p.m. Nov. 12

COST: Free

CONTACT: James Myers, 475-4772, or jamisr@rit.edu