Cross & Crescent

Olivier and Haiti

Relocating for college is a nerve-racking experience filled with cultural surprises for most freshly graduated high school students. Try mustering up the courage to fly 681 miles to a country that speaks a different language and then tackling the academic rigors of a reputable university in that language.

Olivier Perodin (2011) left his family and loved ones in his native Haiti in order to do just that. He arrived in the United States not knowing when he’d be able to return again, or if his return was even possible. “My heart wrenched when I left my family. I was shocked at how busy it was here, and how people kept to themselves. In Haiti we say hi to strangers in the streets.”

These initial emotional tests could not prepare Olivier for Haiti’s present crumbling state.

The distance traveled was the least daunting aspect of Olivier’s journey. Haiti has been economically deprived as a result 36 coup d’état that occurred after it gained its independence in 1804. The revolts have been rough on the land, causing Haiti to lose ninety percent of its vegetation, and its reliance on imports only inhibits their progress.

Poverty and crime run its streets. A car stuck in traffic baits kidnappings that can only be diffused by ransoms way out of the common Haitian’s financial reach. These conditions have forced Olivier’s family to stay constantly alert.

Nonetheless, Olivier did not pass up his opportunity for an education in the United States. He graduated from his Catholic high school in Haiti with exceptional grades, and scored high enough on the SAT’s to be sought by institutions like Saint Joseph’s University and NYU. He responded to SJU’s recruitment efforts and accepted a scholarship to study at the Jesuit university. “I had studied in a Catholic high school, and knew the education I would get at a Jesuit school would be top notch.”

Olivier arrived in the U.S with his family and his country on his shoulders. He knew his experiences here would shape him into someone that could someday open doors for Haiti. “After I become established here, I want to go back home and bring some organization in the government. I want to encourage the people of Haiti.”

The most destructive earthquake Haiti has ever known now directs the world’s attention to Olivier’s native country. This disaster has exacerbated Haiti’s present impoverished state, and nations cannot help but to notice the country our brother has formed his life around.

Haiti was not always in its present state. His country was the first to gain its independence through a successful slave revolt, and it assisted other countries in the Americas gain their independence. Sixty-five percent of the country was once covered with lush vegetation, allowing the country to be mostly self-sufficient, and it had authority over the gold that attracted the imperialists.

Olivier & Lambda Chi

I have learned ways to excel in and impact this new society, and I can use these tools and lessons to initiate change in my country.

The hope to see new positive times for Haiti motivated Olivier to establish a strong presence at St. Joseph’s University. He kept a successful academic record, and got involved with different programs, like the co-operative internship program, Caribbean student association and the finance society. He was always looking for ways to grow and learn.

As aggressive and hard working as he was, Olivier was searching for camaraderie of like-minded individuals. There was more to offer his new community, and he was looking for something that would enhance his ideals, pushing him further along his development. Lambda Chi Alpha was the obvious decision.

Lambda Chi’s presence at St. Joseph’s was analogous to what Olivier wants his position to be in Haiti and in life. “Lambda Chi was making the community better, and the brothers care about each-other. I could see how they rely on each other, and I knew I could rely on them.” Inevitably his activity on campus led him to meet some of the brothers, who quickly realized what he could offer to Lambda Chi Alpha.

As a brother, Olivier shared a fresh new perspective. He was the first international student to become a brother, and members came to know and share his hopes for Haiti. Although most members perceived his experiences as unique, his morality and Christian principles were congruent with the brotherhood’s, allowing for a mutual beneficial relationship between the group and the individual. “I have learned ways to excel in and impact this new society, and I can use these tools and lessons to initiate change in my country. Lambda Chi has helped solidify my personality.”

This earthquake in Haiti has affected Lambda Chi more directly than most brothers across the nation know. Olivier’s family has lost their home and their family business —- a school called Centre Classic et Culturel De Petion-ville. The school teaches grades kindergarten to twelfth. Many children and families have lost their primary source of education—Haiti lost an important unit of its progressive development.

As a fraternity we are now faced with a major test of our principles. It is not only a test, but also a real opportunity to practice vir quisque vir, and Kalepa ta Kala. Olivier is working around the clock to fund reparations of CCCPV and any other part of Haiti he can lend a hand to. He has built a website, that is accepting donations, and Phi Lambda will be a strong contributor to his efforts.

The obvious way to end this passage is to ask for your support, but I do not need to do that. It is a brother’s innate response to react at with loyalty time like this. We know we have a brother in need and we know what to do. An epidemic like Haiti’s is an opportunity to show why we are Lambda Chi Alpha.

Click here for more information about Centre Classic et Culturel De Petion-ville.