As a native of Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Systems Pierre Arthur Elysee has seen firsthand the substandard construction that contributed to the high death toll from the country’s January earthquake.
“I’m not going to say I could predict what was going to happen, but you could see that the buildings were not being built according to norms,” says Elysee.
A few weeks after the quake hit, Elysee and his colleague in the Department of Computer Science and Systems, Assistant Professor Magdy Ellabidy, began devising a plan to help.
“At the time, we realized there wasn’t much we could do in terms of what was already taking place: rescuing, saving people, sending food,” says Elysee. “But in the long term, we wondered what contribution we could bring to the table.”
Their answer was “Train the Trainer,” a two-week, intensive program that brought Haitian nationals to Wentworth’s campus to receive training in either project or construction management. A total of 39 Haitian professionals arrived in June, taking courses in construction methods, safety requirements, and project administration from Wentworth instructors as well as representatives from private industry, including IBM.
Elysee also made sure participants learned the power of networking, making a LinkedIn account with 20 contacts a requirement.
“This was an event where Haitian professionals had the chance to meet other professionals in their country,” says Elysee. “And now you have nearly 40 people who are bound together and keep in touch with each other.”
Elysee says that phase two of the program is set to begin in December in Haiti, and will include further instruction for program participants so they can go on and train others in their communities.
“Now the trainee is going to be the trainer,” says Elysee.
