A Lasting Tribute: Honoring Dr. Rodrigue Mortel’s Legacy

The first week of December is woven with deep meaning for all of us at Mortel High Hopes for Haiti. It is when legacy, memory, and mission meet.

We celebrate:

Dr. Rodrigue Mortel’s birthday
The 25th anniversary of Les Bons Samaritains (LBS)
And this year, the installation of Dr. Mortel’s official portrait at Penn State Cancer Institute

A Portrait That Tells a Story of Vision and Service

In early fall, Penn State Cancer Institute installed a formal portrait honoring Dr. Mortel recognizing his legacy as a pioneering medical leader, educator, and humanitarian.

His groundbreaking achievements were many:

He was the Founding Director of the Penn State University Cancer Center, the forerunner to Penn State Cancer Institute
In 1982, he became the nation’s first Black, foreign-educated chair of obstetrics and gynecology.
He served 30 years at Penn State College of Medicine and was known for his research in uterine cancer treatment

Why We Saved This News for Today

When the portrait was unveiled in October, our team knew immediately that the story needed to be shared but wanted this moment to coincide with the moments that shaped Dr. Mortel’s legacy:

His birthday
The school that began it all
The milestone he dreamed of but never needed credit for

Today marks 25 years of Les Bons Samaritains, the first school and the foundation of the model that now reaches more than 1,300 students across St. Marc, Haiti.

To celebrate LBS is to celebrate him. To share his portrait is to honor the roots of what he created.

25 Years of Les Bons Samaritains

LBS was built in 2000 and began with just 65 kindergarten students, children from the poorest neighborhoods of St. Marc, Haiti, hand-chosen because they had the least access to opportunity.

One class, then another, then another.

LBS became the first proof that his belief was true:

“If you educate a child, you build a nation.”

The Portrait and the Path Forward

The portrait at Penn State is now a permanent reminder of Dr. Mortel’s decades of trailblazing leadership in medicine.

In Haiti, his legacy is lived through:

the joy of students learning in bright classrooms,
alumni returning to give back to younger generations,
parents who see a future for their children they never had themselves,
and a community continuing the work he set in motion.

On this shared milestone, his birthday and LBS’s 25th year, we recommit ourselves to the vision he entrusted to us.

A Final Word: Thank You

To every sponsor, donor, alum, partner, and friend: thank you for being a part of this story.

Because of you, 25 years of Les Bons Samaritains is not the end of a chapter, it is the beginning of the next one.

And today, we honor Dr. Mortel the way he would have wanted:
not with accolades, but with action, standing beside Haiti’s children and ensuring they have every opportunity to thrive.