Tuesday, December 20, 2011

It is December 2011 and just about one year from the first time I went to New Orleans. I've been planning the upcoming Bonner trip with Tommy and Britt and while reflecting on my first trip to NOLA, I've discovered I never posted my last entry.

My entry today is going to focus on my first working day here in New Orleans. Monday morning Lexy, Laura, Britt, Maria, myself and two students from William and Mary were tasked to a house to do demolition on the interior. When we first arrived at the house, from the outside its windows were not boarded up nor were the outside walls crumbling like other houses in need of demolishing. I thought someone could be living in it at the time and it just needed some fixing up. To my surprise the inside was completely torn apart. Walls had been ripped down, floors were scrapped up, and there were holes in the ceiling. Mike, our United Saints site leader, informed us this home had not been touched since Katrina five years ago. I was taken back by this. How could a completely ruined home not have any work done to it in 5 years?

Before I came to New Orleans, I thought most of the homes would be demolished where they were the worst and the city for the most part was on the next stage of re-building. Much to my amazement, this home, apart from some of the demolition other volunteer teams had recently done, was exactly how Katrina had left it. Unfortunately, the homeowner was unable to visit the site while we were working so I did not get a chance to hear his own account of what happened. Mike informed us the house, which was located in Mid-City, sat in close to 4 feet of water for about a week before the water level was lowered. There was still a visible stain on the outside of the house where the water level had been for days. (The yellowish stain on the left, level to the middle of the window.)

We jumped right in to demolishing some of the walls that needed to be completely rebuilt. Laura and I tackled a concrete wall that used to be part of the bathroom. In full gear- a hard hat, respirator, goggles, gloves and a sledgehammer in hand- we worked on the wall all day. Maria later joined Lexy and Britt with tearing down dry wall in another section of the house.

After a long day, our arms were tired but our hearts were filled with hope. I realized though the work seems to be endless, a few volunteers can really make a difference. We were able to expose the rotten wood that was barely supporting the house so a new team could go in and replace them. Though we were not able to return to the house, later in the week other Bonners were tasked back and were able to rip out the ceiling. Step by step, I know this house will be rebuilt and hopefully be called home again soon.

For our last 3 days in New Orleans, our team was sent to lot to break up some concrete. We were told it would be about the size of a sidewalk, however we came to find out our little part of concrete was about 5 feet wide and stretched the entire length of the lot. The lot we were working on used to be a home now it only contained part of the original foundation and the sidewalk to leading down what used to be the house. Our United Saints site leaders Andy and Kevin informed us the homeowner fell victim to an unfortunate yet surprisingly common trick; the money she was given by the government to start rebuilding was stolen from her by the contractor she paid to rebuild. Left with an overgrowing open lot and no money to rebuild, she now must rely on volunteers and organizations like United Saints to help her.

With only sledgehammers, pickaxes and our passion to help, our team worked tirelessly to pull up the concrete for almost 3 full days. This days were the highlights of my trip. Our team grew closer with each crack of the concrete. The team work needed to lift huge slabs of concrete, the ongoing jokes from earlier in the week and the feeling of accomplishment each time we threw another rock into the dumpster created a lighthearted atmosphere that left us with a lifetime of memories.

Though the work we were doing was a long process with only hand tools, I was proud of what we were doing. This homeowner was hit hard by Hurrican Katrina and then a contractor stole the only money she had available to put towards rebuilding. I’m glad we were able to help her for the beginning of the long journey of rebuilding ahead of her.

As I look back to my experience in New Orleans I am extremely thankful to have had the opportunity to travel to such a beautiful city with some of my best friends to help with rebuilding homes. I got to experience first hand the culture, the history, the devastation and the spirit of the city all in its entirety. I cannot wait to come back!

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