Rocky River: Local nun injured in Haiti, resumes serving poor

ROCKY RIVER -- A Humility of Mary nun who has served in Haiti for 8 years was injured in the Haiti earthquake, but has resumed her missionary work, say her colleagues at Magnificat High School.

Sister Judy Dohner, HM, was working in a small clinic in the mountains of Fondwa, Haiti, no more than 15 miles from the epicenter of the quake.

The ceiling of the building she was in collapsed. Sister Judy was trapped in the rubble.

"Some of her colleagues helped her get out of the building before the room she was in was completely destroyed," Magnificat Dean of Students Moira Clark tells WKYC. "She feels very lucky to be alive and very privileged to be serving the people of Haiti."

One of the nuns with whom she was serving, Sister Odile of the Sisters of St. Antoine, was killed in the earthquake, along with one of the orphans in their care, a boy named Jude Dubic.

Sister Judy, a nurse, suffered a concussion and broken ribs but quickly resumed her service to the poor at St. Damien Hospital in Tabarre, near the airport in Port-au-Prince.

Largely because of Sister Judy's influence, the missions in Haiti have been a priority for Magnificat High School for years. The earthquake and Sister Judy's example have increased the school's fund-raising efforts.

"We have girls from Campus Ministry walking around during lunch with baskets asking girls for their change and for donations, and we've gotten a lot of support from that," says Magnificat senior Anne Eifel.

The girls' donations, which will be collected through Friday, will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Reuter Foundation. Magnificat teacher Heidi Reuter Paul, whose family established the foundation in 1988, explained.

"We like to encourage students to think of others, and to encourage philanthropy," Paul tells WKYC. "Haiti is a great opportunity to do that. We do fund social service agencies that react when there are disasters or earthquakes."

Sister Judy has told members of her congregation in phone calls that the devastation in the rural areas in which she serves is severe.

The convent, guest house, and school where she had been stationed were destroyed.