Wednesday, December 15, 3:00 PM
Leogane, Haiti

Dear all,

Though there have been many stories floating about over the last few
days, the following news article is perhaps the most up-to-date and
correct. The article can also be found at:
http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2004/12/15/local.20041215-
sbt-LOCL-B1-ND_student_in_Haiti.sto

I was told by Dr. Lafontant this morning that the car has been found
and is now at a UN Camp. However, Joseph's body has not yet been
recovered.

Father Tom Streit will be arriving in Haiti this afternoon along
with Joseph's brother, Sergo. I believe that memorial services and
funeral plans will be made after their arrival.

Please keep Cathy and Josephs family in your prayers.

Many thanks,
Katie Griggs
Hopital Sainte Croix


ND student in Haiti missing, thought dead
By MARGARET FOSMOE
Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Jean Joseph Dorvil, a University of Notre Dame
graduate student, is missing and presumed dead after an incident in
a dangerous area adjacent to the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

A witness reported that Dorvil, a 29-year-old native of Haiti, was
shot Saturday after failing to stop at a checkpoint manned by
violent "chimčres," armed gangs that claim loyalty to former
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, according to information that has
been provided to Notre Dame officials.

There is little hope that Dorvil is still alive, Notre Dame
spokesman Matthew Storin said Tuesday.

The graduate student had been traveling with two foreign nationals
to visit the Arcahaie area. He had planned to return to Notre Dame
next summer.

Dorvil, who was pursuing a master of science in administration
degree from the university's Mendoza College of Business, was the
program administrator in a Notre Dame-sponsored program to research,
treat and eliminate lymphatic filariasis. The program is funded by
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Filariasis is a disease that causes elephantiasis, a disfiguring
condition that occurs in people infected by a mosquito-borne
parasitic worm.

Dorvil was the subject of a Sept. 27 feature story in The Tribune.

In the interview, Dorvil said he was born and grew up in Leôgâne,
Haiti, and as a child played in the squalid streets.

"Although our living conditions were poor, we really didn't realize
how poor we were because it was our life," he told a reporter.

Dorvil began his career while still in high school, working as a
part-time senior epidemiology coordinator in the lymphatic
filariasis program. The program is a cooperative venture between
Notre Dame, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the
Haitian Ministry of Health and Hôpital Ste. Croix in Leôgâne. It
aims to eradicate lymphatic filariasis from Haiti by 2020.

His job included creating teams and work assignments for staff and
supervising data entry staff to ensure quality control.

The program is directed by the Rev. Thomas G. Streit, a Notre Dame
biology professor. Streit was one of Dorvil's closest friends and
served as best man at Dorvil's wedding. The priest is making plans
to fly to Haiti as soon as possible to help with the search.

"Joseph would do absolutely anything for anyone," said Sarah Craig
Peterek, the lymphatic filariasis program manager at Notre Dame.

Dorvil apparently was asked to provide a ride to two Canadians, and
he took a shortcut through the dangerous area, she said.

"He'd give you the shirt off his back," Peterek said. "He had
numerous opportunities to leave (Haiti), but he really felt he
needed to give back to the program that gave to him."

Dorvil and his wife, Catherine Speraw, were married in December
2003. She is an American working for the Haiti Children's Nutrition
Program of Chattanooga, Tenn., a project also based at Hôpital Ste.
Croix.