In response to the August 14 earthquake in southern Haiti, Engineering Record took a deep dive into the operations of Jim Ansara’s health care non-profit, Build Health International.

The tragedy of humanity is that we, at times, learn nothing from the past. But the stakes are too high to repeat our mistakes this time. Haitians are again being cruelly tested by a catastrophic earthquake.

On August 13 a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti’s Southern Peninsula. The quake damaged many dwellings and buildings, including in the cities of Les Cayes, Jeremie and on the island of Ile a Vache below the peninsula. Over 1,300 have perished as of this writing, with many more expected.

On July 14 WCVB-TV Channel 5’s Erika Tarantal aired a segment about Build Health International, entitled: 5 for Good: Beverly-based Build Health International responds to COVID pandemic: Local organization builds health care infrastructure in needy countries.

Smartly, Haitians teach us, “Saw pa konnen, pi gran pase’w.” (What you don’t know is greater than you.) For me, that is certainly true. I’m not an expert on philanthropy or Haiti, but I am perpetually seeking greater understanding. In that spirit, I engaged the Center for Global Philanthropy at The Philanthropic Initiative in Boston.

These remarks were delivered at the June 2, 2018 Commencement for Landmark High School in Prides Crossing, MA. Landmark is 2-12th grade day and boarding school with a special focus on educating bright students with language-based learning disabilities. First-in-class, Landmark draws students from across the US and other countries.

I am pleased to join the inaugural Dean’s Advisory Board for the new Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, which brings together all faculty and their departments offering undergraduate and graduate programs in Global Studies.

Based on my life-changing year in the TPW Cohort Program, I helped found an international philanthropy network for philanthropists, grantmakers, social investors, and advisors called New England International Donors (NEID). Nearly ten years later, that project has born much fruit!

What do you do when you witness profound need? Do you stand by and feel badly, or do you do something about it? Changemakers Jim Ansara, founder of Build Health International and hunger advocate and Boston chef Michael Scelfo (Alden & Harlow, Waypoint) are driven by the need to make a difference. Listen to the full.

This interview was originally published in this week’s issue of BNID‘s newsletter. Read this dynamic interview with Jim Ansara, a Boston-area construction leader and the founder of Build Health International. Jim has spent much of his working life growing infrastructure capacity for health care delivery in low-income countries around the world. Click here for the full interview.

Aerial view of the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation hospital in Fond de Blanc, Southern Peninsula Haiti. (Credit: Terry Sebastian)This story is featured on the website Humanosphere on Feb. 1, 2017:Build Health International: Making Haiti’s hospitals resilient and sustainable In a country starved for resources with a crippled public health system, one nonprofit is determined to make more of Haiti’s health-care facilities.

Dear Supporter,This is no ordinary triumph. This is historic.This is the moment that the Irish poet Seamus Heaney foretold as the rising up of that “once in a lifetime…longed-for tidal wave of justice,” when “hope and history rhyme.”When the leader of 193 nations apologized on December 1 from his grand carpeted chamber at the UN.

This is an article I wrote for the International Human Rights Funders Group recently:Applying Human Rights Principles to Disaster Response.

Haitians Live on Solidarity after Hurricane MatthewThe Southern Peninsula of Haiti has been decimated but not destroyed. The strong networks of local leaders and residents will support each other and rebuild, with our solidarity and support.Many of my friends are asking where to give — AGAIN.

Story by Sayari Patel and Liz Schwartz of St. Boniface Haiti Foundation. First posted on Storify. St. Boniface Hospital is located in rural Fond-des-Blancs, Haiti, a remote region in the mountains of Haiti’s southern peninsula, 3-4 hours from Port-au-Prince.

I had the privilege of participating as a panelist on a teleconference organized by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) regarding issues to consider in responding to the Nepal Earthquake. CDP is raising money for a pooled fund to make grants for mid to long-term reconstruction in Nepal.

New U.S.-Nepal Fund Launched after Model of Successful Haiti Fund at the Boston Foundation Based on the tremendous impact of the Haiti Fund in helping to strengthen Haitian-led initiatives and empowering a cadre of Haitian American leaders to lead a philanthropic response to the Haiti earthquake, the Boston Foundation has launched a U.S.-Nepal Fund following

We have been blessed to have many close Nepali friends. As we grieve with them the loss of their homes and many treasured historic sites, we have joined with the Bhuju family, proprietors of Zumi’s Espresso cafe of Ipswich, MA, in matching gifts for Oxfam’s emergency relief work in Nepal.

With today’s news of the horrific Nepal earthquake I am driven to take immediate action — to make an on-line donation or wire money to friends of friends in the dust-choked streets of Kathmandu and green pinnacles of rural Nepal.

A PARAGUAYAN-HAITIAN PARTNERSHIP FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP & EDUCATION Petionville and Verettes, Haiti January 9 & 10, 2015 At two separate ceremonies attended by dignitaries, educational professionals and donors today and tomorrow, four Haitian high school students from Verrettes and Ile a Vache, Haiti – Widancia Charles, Estevenson Stephen, Minociene Cherestal and James Pierre —