2009 Cornell grad on disaster mission to Haiti

MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon firefighter and 2009 Cornell graduate Mehrdad Zarifkar will put his disaster training to test on a 10-day medical mission to Haiti scheduled to leave Feb. 8.

As a volunteer member of the Mount Vernon Fire Department, Zarifkar is an emergency medical technician (EMT) trained to deal with disasters and hazardous materials.

Zarifkar will help set up and maintain a clinic in Leogane, near the epicenter of the catastrophic Jan. 12 earthquake. He will be part of a medical team sent through World Wide Village, a faith-based charitable organization with a focus on Haiti, and coordinated locally through Iowa City doctor Ginny Ryan-Buresh. Her husband, Dr. Chris Buresh, is currently in Haiti with the team and is posting updates from the field.

“I was looking for a way to get involved hands-on,” said Zarifkar, who works as a phlebotomist and freelance photographer. “It’s the firefighting instinct — we’re attracted to helping people in need. What we do is pre-hospital care, and there they don’t have a hospital. Adapt and overcome, that’s our motto.”

Zarifkar is seeking financial support for airfare. Any money raised beyond airfare will be used for subsequent medical teams to Haiti through World Wide Village. A donation of at least $100 includes a framed 8×10 picture of any image — including many campus scenics — on Zarifkar’s Web site.