This was my second trip to the Gulf Coast area in seven months. Very little has changed. In January I was in Slidell, LA just north of NOLA, and this time I was in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, about an hour east of the city.
I was with four other chaperons and 16 17-year-old girls. We worked with a local Habitat for Humanity chapter. We were outside working all day. I've never sweat so much in my entire life and the current heat/humidity in NJ feels "not too bad" to me now, by comparison. I am thankful I don't work outside in this heat all day and have a new-found appreciation for those who do.
Observation: The gulf coast is being rebuilt on the backs of volunteers - largely students and women from what I have seen.
Observation: The devastation is horrific. TWO YEARS LATER - it is STILL horrific. Imagine your town wiped out. All the strip malls leveled, piles of debris still standing in the parking lots where your favorite stores used to be; streets abandoned except for one or two homeowners who have returned to try and rebuild on their own. Picture beautiful homes, wrecked and skeletal, with FEMA trailers in the front yard, where a family of 4 or 5 live as they try to rebuild. You have to drive miles to find a bank, which has only re-opened in a trailer. Many grocery stores have not returned, so getting food is a real trick in some places. Some roads have still not reopened (there's no urgency for some, since no one lives on those streets any more). Many traffic lights are still missing. It's just unreal. It looks like a movie set - an apocalyptic movie.
Observation: These are not lazy people who are looking for handouts; they are hard-working people who had insurance policies that are not being honored, and people who are loosing their life savings trying to fight for what should be theirs.
Observation: The wealthier people fair better.
MESSAGE: This is what they all asked us - homeowners, shop owners, the Habitat people, the people at the church where we stayed - they all asked us to tell people outside the area that it is not over; Katrina is NOT over. And the need is still great.
The Habitat people told us the volunteers are dropping off. People think everything is fixed. It's not. It's so very far from it.
3 comments:
I have a lot of friends from New Orleans and I hear the same thing you're saying over and over. It's amazing how much is being left to volunteers and residents - they are not getting the help they need.
I do marketing for Hellmann's and just loved this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrnPKb5d2HU - it shows jazz singer Charmaine Neville's fish fry friday fundraisers. She does them in her backyard and gives the $$ to her neighbors who still need help. Her efforts are amazing, but it's sad that's what it comes to you know?!
Hey Laura:
Thanks so much for posting that link. Next time I'm down in NOLA I'm going to try to find Charmaine's and stop by.
Also... you're in marketing at Hellmann's... if you're ever in a position to hire freelance writers, please feel free to reach out to me for consideration: carole@utteclarity.com/908.689.6797.
Hi Carole Ann, thanks for your contact info! I don't know what's more appealing about Charmaine's event - the food or the music! Definitely a great New Orleans style intersection. :)
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