Although it has been years since that devastating event occurred, and certainly a lot of the damage has been repaired, on our trip we saw that there continues to be a lot of work left to be done. Our group helped clean out one home that need to be repaired, demolished a church and community center so it could be repaired, and continued on repairs of another house damaged in Katrina.
While construction was a significant part of our collective journey, my path was different on this mission. I spent a lot of time working on Community Service projects including helping clean a stable for a horse ranch, helping sort beads with disabled adults at the local A R C center, planting trees by the levy as a wind barrier, and participating in a mardi gras parade with a local nursery school.
It was the nursery school which perhaps struck me the most. We played with the eight young kids and marched in the parade with them. While the school was in a clearly poor neighborhood, the children were happy and seemingly well adjusted. One boy, Trent, particularly bonded with me. I played with him while everyone got ready. I held him before the parade began, and held his hand throughout the parade.
After the parade was over, and we were finished, we were provided a tour of the facility. What we learned after our two hours session was that these children were at a homeless shelter for single mothers with young children. We also learned that sweet Trent became a big brother a few days earlier.
The calm, happy disposition of these children is a testament to the success of the program at this homeless shelter. The fact that these children who were in such a precarious position did not show it, demonstrates how well this program was working.
This shelter reminded me how important it is to help not only repair the physical buildings in the aftermath of Katrina, but also the community.
Evan and I look forward to going back to New Orleans next year.
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