Love of Haiti Inspires 30 Years of Service

The University will host a Meet the Author and Book Signing reception with JoAnne Kuehner, author of “Oh, for the Love of Haiti” on Oct. 24.
Copies of JoAnne Kuehner’s book “Oh, for the Love of Haiti,” which chronicles 30 years of her experiences in Haiti serving “the poorest of the poor,” will be on sale at a Meet the Author and Book Signing reception on Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Kane Forum of Leahy Hall. Proceeds from the book sale benefit Hope for Haiti.
Copies of JoAnne Kuehner’s book “Oh, for the Love of Haiti,” which chronicles 30 years of her experiences in Haiti serving “the poorest of the poor,” will be on sale at a Meet the Author and Book Signing reception on Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Kane Forum of Leahy Hall. Proceeds from the book sale benefit Hope for Haiti.

“There was a little boy who caught my eye. He reminded me very much of my son, Paul, when he was an infant. This little one was strapped to his crib with an IV in one arm, and he was crying his heart out. Unfortunately, his body was so dehydrated, he couldn’t shed a single tear. I went to unstrap him to pick him up, but the nurse waved me away. She was afraid that I would dislodge the needle,” writes JoAnne Kuehner of her first impressions of Haiti as a volunteer at the general hospital in Port-Au-Prince.

“… I no sooner turned around that I noticed several children over in the corner stacked up on the cold floor under a sink, so I ran over to see if I could comfort them. But the same nurse said, ‘Don’t worry about them. They’re dead,’” Kuehner continues. Later that day “… as I walked a short distance from where the bus parked to the hotel, a young girl about twelve tugged on my skirt, and, through a translator, said that she would like to go to school and asked if I would pay the fee so she could attend. With a flashback to the baby in the crib and the dead children on the hospital floor, I quickly answered ‘yes.’ … What I didn’t know at the time was that this was the beginning of a love affair for me with a country I hardly knew.”

Kuehner writes about her experiences during her 30-years of service to “the poorest of the poor” in her book “Oh, for the Love of Haiti.” She will read excerpts from her book at a “Meet the Author and Book Signing” reception hosted by The University of Scranton’s Panuska College of Professional Studies. The event, which is free of charge and open to the public, will take place Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Kane Forum of Leahy Hall on Jefferson Avenue.

Kuehner is founder of “Hope for Haiti,” an international charity that provides assistance to Haitians, particularly the children, in the areas of education, nutrition and healthcare. She is a Dame of the Order of Malta, one of the oldest Catholic lay orders, whose mission is to care for the poor and sick of the world.

A resident of Lake Ariel and Naples, Florida, Kuehner received an honorary degree from The University of Scranton in 2001 and the University’s Kuehner Hall of the Loyola Science Center is named in honor of her and her husband, Carl Kuehner ’62, a former chair of the University’s Board of Trustees.

Copies of Kuehner’s book, “Oh, for the Love of Haiti,” will be available for purchase at the reception. Proceeds from the sale benefit Hope for Haiti.

For additional information, call 570-941-7401 or email info@scranton.edu.

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During a visit to a clinic operated by the Brothers of the Missionaries of Charities, JoAnne Kuehner, who had no medical experience, was asked to hook up I.V.s to an overflowing crowd of dehydrated patients. After watching another volunteer hook up I.V.s a few times, Kuehner writes “I decided that I didn’t have any time to waste, as these men needed fluid in their bodies. I double-gloved my hands

(as most of these men have HIV) and got to work. I didn’t have any oranges to practice on; just men in dire need. They were so dehydrated it was difficult to find their vein … The Lord had pity on them, knowing I had no experience, and allowed me to find the veins on my first try. It was like a production line, putting in I.V.s until everyone received one.”

The University of Scranton will host a Meet the Author and Book Signing reception with JoAnne Kuehner, author of “Oh, for the Love of Haiti” on Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Kane Forum of Leahy Hall. The reception is free of charge and open to the public. Copies of Kuehner’s book will be available for sale at the reception. Proceeds from the book sale benefit Hope for Haiti.

 

 

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