SAVE NOLA

Looking back- I'm not sure where the last month has gone- but it has been very busy!

The week before April Vacation was a blur and exhausting as there was so much to accomplish. I headed out Sunday the 13th for New Orleans with a small team of students from my high school to work for a week on homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. We worked with St. Bernard Project (check them out!). They were amazing and are doing great things! St. Bernard Parish, where we worked, is a wonderful community. All homes and businesses were destroyed in the storm and many people have not yet returned. Homes and businesses are abandoned, jobs are scarce but the hope and tenacity of these people remain. They are actively seeking to start over- return to normalacy and are helping one another get on their feet. We were amazed by their appreciation and positive attitudes and sweet spirits. Each person we met shared their story- and it was exciting to get so many different perspectives.

The destruction was horrible and there is still so much to do. Thousands of homes are being prepared to be demolished- many more houses are in various stages of repair and thousands of people need the resources to make that happen. It was a joy to work with St. Bernard Project who is tangibly helping one family at a time get back into their homes. So many feel like they have been abandandoned and forgotten by the greater community. And in many ways, they have. We don't hear the news reports, life has gone on for us- but these people mark time as to if something happened before/after Katrina. They've not only lost loved ones, their homes and possessions- but their culture has changed, their communities have been disrupted and the effects this will have in years to come is still unknown. Environmentally, the challenges are great as well. They asked that we not forget them.

Look to see what you can do to make a difference! We can all and must do something!