Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2010-01-14

Three Samford University students who are in Haiti are reportedly safe following the 7.0 earthquake that shook the country on Tuesday, Jan. 12.

Anna McKoy, Megan Scott and Katie Snider are part of a trip they organized themselves to an orphanage in the town of Montrouis, located about 40 miles north of the earthquake’s epicenter in Port-au-Prince.

According to email and Facebook messages from the students to their parents, they were unharmed, and no damage was sustained to the orphanage itself.

The three nutrition and dietetics majors have been assisting the Canaan orphanage and Christian school at a clinic that addresses malnutrition needs. They are at the site during Samford’s January break between fall and spring semesters.

McKoy is a sophomore from Montgomery, Ala. Scott is a junior from Athens, Ala. Snider is a senior from Athens, Ala.
Jane Scott, Megan’s mother, said on Thursday that her daughter’s most recent message referenced possible rationing of meals at the orphanage. Local stores are closed, she said.

The students arrived in Haiti in late December and are expected to return to the U.S. on Jan. 22.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.