 ‘Emil’s Army’ on the March
Emil T. Hofman traveled to Haiti in January and March, and he was on his way back this May. At 88 years old, Hofman is a man with a mission—bringing volunteer physician support to Notre Dame’s Haiti Program, which, under the direction of Rev. Thomas G. Streit, C.S.C., seeks to prevent lymphatic filariasis, a mosquito-borne disease affecting 25 percent of the population, as much as 50 percent in some areas. “I was in my 80s when I started this,” Hofman says. “I wanted to do something worthwhile with these final years of my life.” The Haiti program, supported by multiple grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, focuses on prevention of lymphatic filariasis, Hofman said. The epidemic disease causes what’s commonly called elephantiasis, the disfiguring and disabling enlargement of arms, legs and genitals of those affected. The Notre Dame program lacks the resources to offer formal medical treatment to sufferers. But Hofman, dean emeritus of the First Year of Studies and professor emeritus of chemistry, taught an estimated 32,000 students in his career—more than 8,000 of whom went on to become physicians. Why not invite them to travel to Haiti with him, become involved, and—ultimately—return to donate their medical skills to treat those afflicted with the disease? Thus the birth of “Emil’s Army,” groups of physicians and health professionals who have accompanied Hofman to Haiti on what he calls “reconnaissance missions.”
On trips earlier this year, Hofman filmed surgeries performed by “Emil’s Army” volunteer surgeons, to create presentations for physicians and others interested in the Haiti Program. “I scrubbed, dressed and shot the film in the room while surgery was being performed,” he says. Most American doctors have never seen anything like the shocking deformity produced by lymphatic filariasis, he adds, “Not even in textbooks.” Hofman returned to Haiti this May on a reconnaissance mission with a group of seven physicians (view the video). He hopes those who travel with him to Haiti will be moved to support the program with their time and their donations. “We always need funds,” he notes. His mission trips also perform another important function: passing his zeal on to the next generation. Biology major E. Brennan Bollman, recently named Notre Dame’s 2009 valedictorian, served as a research assistant to Father Streit, conducting fieldwork in Leogane and Port-au-Prince Haiti. Accompanying Hofman on other recent trips were granddaughter Courtney, a Notre Dame senior, and grandson Colin, a junior, as well as junior history major (and football team offensive lineman) Chris Stewart. Hofman taught many students over the course of his career at Notre Dame—including two who were awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine. He’s proudest of those who “followed the example of the Lady on the Dome, and became good mothers,” he adds. But he wants to emphasize how proud he is of another former student—Father Tom Streit—and the work that Father Streit is doing in Haiti. “He is an inspiration to me,” Hofman says. “The teacher learned from his student.”
Reprinted with permission from ND Works |
The object of the missions, Hofman says, is to give people a clearer understanding of the people of Haiti, “the most impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere. And an appreciation of the words of St. Matthew, ‘As you do this for the least of our brothers and sisters, so you do it for me.’”