FIU seeking Haitian Creole speakers to help in community

MIAMI – Florida International University is creating a database of fluent Haitian Creole speakers willing to volunteer their time to help with a number of ongoing efforts to support South Florida’s Haitian community in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated Haiti last month.

Interpreters are needed right away to assist the College of Law’s Carlos A. Costa Immigration and Human Rights Clinic as it helps Haitian immigrants apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). FIU also is responding to a number of requests from its community partners who need Creole interpreters.

This need became evident during the first meeting of the FIU Haiti Relief Task Force, a group of leaders from around the university brought together by FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg for the purpose of coordinating the short, mid- and long-term efforts of the university in response to the Haiti disaster.

Throughout FIU, various departments are identifying and harnessing the knowledge and skills of faculty, staff and students to address the medical, infrastructure and other relief and recovery needs for Haiti. FIU also is committed to assisting its students with ties to Haiti who are experiencing hardship as a result of the earthquake.

The task force’s chairwoman and coordinator, Senior Vice President for External Relations Sandra Gonzalez-Levy, said she was impressed with the number of efforts already under way and wants to support them by creating a centralized database of Creole speakers that can be called upon to assist on different projects over the next few weeks and months.

“We have a very generous university community that wants to help, including eager students who were quick to respond to the call for relief” Gonzalez-Levy said. “This committee will support and amplify those efforts by identifying resources, leveraging partnerships and facilitating information.”

College of Law Dean Alex Acosta explained that the TPS application process is quite detailed and it is imperative that law students and faculty who volunteer to help local Haitians fill out the paperwork have the support of fluent Creole speakers as interpreters.

“We need reliable interpretation because people’s right to obtain TPS status hangs in the balance,” Acosta said. “I’m certain that within the university community we have the people to fill this need.”

Anyone interested in volunteering may fill out the form on the FIU Hope for Haiti:Doing Our Part website. Students, faculty, staff, alumni and other members of the South Florida community are welcome.

Media Contact:  Madeline Baró at 305-348-2234.

 -FIU-

 About FIU:
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. More than 100,000 FIU alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University”. In August 2009, FIU welcomed the inaugural class of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu.