When an earthquake struck the Republic of Haiti on Jan. 12, the house that ASU graduate student Christa Brelsford was staying in began to collapse, causing injuries that required her right leg to be amputated from the shin down.
Brelsford and her brother, Julian Brelsford, 27, had been observing a charity organization in Haiti for 10 days before the earthquake occurred. Christa Brelsford planned to return to Arizona on Jan. 15.
President Michael Crow released an e-mail to the ASU community on Jan. 15 explaining Christa Brelsford’s situation. In the e-mail, Crow also provided a list of organizations where students and faculty can donate resources to aid in relief efforts.
Christa Brelsford was unable to comment while she recovers at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Fla., but her father Taylor Brelsford said she is resting comfortably and plans to return to ASU later this semester.
“Her general plan is to do some of her physical therapy there and catch up the best she can in school,” Taylor Brelsford said.
Julian Brelsford said he and his sister traveled to Haiti to learn more about Haiti Partners, an American and Haitian organization.
When the siblings realized the earthquake had begun, they started to run down the stairs, hoping to get outside.
During the quake, Julian Brelsford was injured as well, fracturing his toe. He said he plans to return to Haiti in about six months to help his Haitian friends.
“The people who we met there helped us so much as we were leaving,” he said, “and since we have left, we have received word from them that they still don’t know where their next meal is coming from and they don’t have clean water.”
Julian and Christa Brelsford are both encouraging others to make donations to Haiti Partners.
“They are an established organization in Haiti and will know where the supplies are needed the most,” Julian Brelsford said.
Since the earthquake occurred while ASU was on winter break, some campus leaders said it has been difficult to organize relief efforts on campus.
However, communications sophomore Tatum Graddy and early education sophomore Elizabeth Warn are organizing a supply drive at Vista del Sol in Tempe that begins on the first day of classes.
“I figured since there was no one organizing stuff where we live, why shouldn’t we?” she said.
Graddy and Warn, who live at Vista del Sol, got other friends involved and called World Care, an organization in Tucson which is collecting supplies for Haiti relief.
The organization sent Warn a list of items that are needed, and she created an event on Facebook for ASU students to get involved.
The drive is planned to run Jan. 19 through Jan. 27.
“We’re hoping this will spread to places besides Vista and push back the ending date,” Warn said. “If it’s still going strong after a week, it would be pointless to end it.”
Graddy said he wanted to help because living in California has helped him understand earthquakes and the devastation they cause.
“I’ve experienced an … earthquake and while there wasn’t a lot of damage, it was scary,” he said. “I’ve never experienced the type of damage people in Haiti are experiencing. Earthquakes are scary in general, but with buildings falling, people being trapped under them, I just can’t even imagine.”
Graddy said he is also working with a cousin who has a T-shirt printing business to make shirts and sell them, donating the profits to the relief efforts in Haiti. Overall, he is hopeful the supply drive will be successful.
“After talking to people, I think it will be a good turnout,” he said. “I’m hoping to fill the bed of my truck and take it down to Tucson full of stuff. Whatever you have to give, we’ll take.”
Reach the reporter at sheydt@asu.edu
