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Morning News

La Roche College President Discusses Student Exchange With War- Torn Countries

Aired September 8, 2000 - 11:24 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: As students here in the U.S. head back to school this fall, there is a special group of students in Pittsburgh. Back in 1993 when war was ripping apart the Balkans, the president of La Roche College, a liberal arts school of only 1,600, went to Croatia to give a few students a future through education. A handful came back to Pittsburgh in search of that future.

Since then, the program has mushroomed with amazing success and hope. Today, students from Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia and countless other war-torn nations are now getting a second chance.

The president of La Roche College and the founder of the program, Monsignor William Kerr, now with us live from Pittsburgh.

Monsignor, good morning to you.

MSGR. WILLIAM KERR, PRESIDENT, LA ROCHE COLLEGE: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: Take us back to 1993. You go to these refugee camps in Croatia. What did you think you were getting into at the time?

KERR: Honestly, Bill, I really didn't know what I was getting into. I was attempting to rescue, so that we could educate, some of the young people disadvantaged in a variety of ways by the conflict in former Yugoslavia. And the program began from that moment. I always say that it was something that God called into being and God has inspired because only God could have planned for something like this.

But the conflicts that are so prominent in our world, as the summit of world leaders has just emphasized, affect young people probably more than anybody else: children and adolescents and certainly college-age students, who should be thinking about their futures and thinking about their nations and their nations' futures, are worried about surviving. And they lose their spirits as well as some of their physical capabilities.

HEMMER: Indeed.

KERR: So the program is to bring young people from -- college- age people from these war-torn and ravaged countries and give them a second chance. HEMMER: Monsignor, you know, eight years later, you've had 227 young refugees come to your campus in Pittsburgh. I mentioned it's small. It's in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. How do they feel when they come there? It's a completely different atmosphere. Is there culture shock that's involved for the students?

KERR: Oh, indeed, there's culture shock, there's homesickness. And it takes the entire college. It's not just dropping them into an educational program, Bill, it takes everybody on the college campus, from staff and faculty to administrators, to kind of, you know, welcome them with a warmth that says to them, this is a peaceful climate, this is a place where you can learn, this is a place where you can talk about the difficulties you've experienced, and you can reclaim yourself. And then you can go back and reclaim your homelands.

HEMMER: And certainly the goal here is to educate them and, as you mentioned, return to your homeland. How big of an impact can these students have when they go back to where they came from?

KERR: Well, I believe they have a phenomenal impact. The students that have gone back to Bosnia and Herzegovina have had a profound impact in a variety of ways, not the least of which is bringing a hopeful spirit back to that region that was so devastated by the war.

Other students will go back to countries in Africa, countries where governments and industries have been destroyed, and they will take leadership positions. We will be sending back to Rwanda some 20 students this May, and they have positions already assigned and they're looking forward to it. But they will be leading in a variety of different ways, certainly in government ministries, but also in business.

HEMMER: In the short time we have left, it's an enormous cost -- about $50,000 per student -- but the program has been mostly privately funded. However, you're now making inroads in a couple different areas. Can you tell us and give us some guidance about where you're make those inroads.

KERR: Well, we're making inroads with the United States Agency for International Development and with the World Bank. Both organizations have really mustered to the cause and are supporting us and working with us, and I think we're really developing partnerships with both of those organizations, and some of the other international funding sources around the world. So it's looking very good, but we still are looking for private support and we're finding it and we're getting it, and it's a wonderful experience, Bill.

HEMMER: Great work. Keep it up, all right?

For our viewers, www.laroche.edu is the Web site for more information.

Monsignor William Kerr, thank you, much appreciated, live in Pittsburgh. KERR: Thank you very much, Bill.

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