The Communique

Issue date: 1/28/10 Section: News

Media Credit: Student Media Haiti native Mona Barthold-Gehy talks with Amy Stourac about family members still in Haiti.

A section of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, lies in ruins after an earthquake devastated the nation on Jan. 12.

Haitians scramble to receive handouts of food and other humanitarian aid. The United Nations estimates about 2 million people are in need of food.

For Kirkwood Community College student Mona Barthold-Gehy, the massive earthquake in Haiti hit home.

Barthold-Gehy, a 41-year-old Web graphic design major, is from Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. The poor Caribbean nation was rocked by a magnitude-7 earthquake Jan. 12. The massive quake killed an estimated 150,000 people, many of them trapped in collapsed buildings. Much of Port-au-Prince turned to rubble.

Barthold-Gehy moved to Cedar Rapids in 1995, when she received a scholarship to attend Kirkwood. She has three sisters and one brother still living in Port-au-Prince.

She moved back to Haiti in 1997 to work for the Haiti government and the Red Cross. Three years later, she returned to the United States.

When Barthold-Gehy received news of the earthquake, she was sad for the people of Haiti and worried for her family.

Barthold-Gehy received a call from authorities in Haiti on Jan. 13 letting her know her family survived the earthquake, although their house was destroyed.

"I was so relieved to hear the news," Barthold-Gehy said. "I feel safe now."

On Jan. 17, Barthold-Gehy, talked by phone with her family in Haiti. She was allowed to speak with them for 10 minutes.

She said she does not know when she will be able to return to her hometown.

Barthold-Gehy said she was grateful to the international office at Kirkwood's main campus for helping her communicate with her family and supporting her during a difficult time.

She encouraged Kirkwood students, faculty and staff to donate to relief for Haiti in any way they can. She is thankful for the support she is receiving from people in the Cedar Rapids area and asks that people pray for the people in Haiti.

Relief agencies have been working to aid the estimated 3 million survivors needing food, water and shelter.

"Security is a problem in Haiti," Barthold-Gehy said. "Cedar Rapids is more peaceful to live in."

The security problem is one of the factors that prompted her move to the United States.

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