Saad Riaz

I haven’t been awake at 8am in a long time. Getting up from the bed at 8 and heading straight to work is something that I came down here to do, and it makes me happy. And it is fun! Lower 9th Village is one of the towns affected by the Hurricane Katrina six years back. But it’s the area in New Orleans that has not been given much attention. When I came here I was expecting some development in this area since it’s been six years since the catastrophe. But it hasn’t changed much within the last three four years. Houses here are still damaged and places that haven’t had any improvement. The towns nearby, that were affected worse are way better off than the lower ninth village, since they were being helped, had sponsors but for no reason the lower ninth ward was left without help.

It was my dream to come here and help out the people. We came at the Lower Ninth Ward to a warehouse and have stayed here since then. It is supposed to be a Community Center and was our job to make it look like one and make it worthy for people to actually come and get help they wanted. The day we came, it was a dangerous place for children, due to all the tools and equipment lying around. Banners of Universities whose students have been here were all scattered around on the roof and hanging badly, library was just dumped with books and two of the rooms were filled with chairs and other wood stuff. In two days we changed a lot of that. Removing all the dangerous tools, shifting the chairs, tables, broken doors, pieces of wood, all the scrap metal, books and weeding the garden outside was hard work. Right now the library looks awesome, Andy and I did most of the poster arranging all day today- getting up on the ladder 15 feet high and hanging the posters, taking some off was fun. I also helped in putting on the wall on one side of the shed and also painting it. It is tiring but a lot of fun and that is what keeps everyone going. We also went to a ranch. It was far from the warehouse but we had a lot of fun there. We got to ride horses, give them baths and had an amazing dinner. We also cleaned the stables, helped with cleaning the land and came back around 6pm.

We took tour of the city and saw all the damaged houses; some had holes in their roofs. These holes held a significance because what Mack, our guide, told us was that during the hurricane at the moment the water was rushing in the streets and into the houses they had just a few seconds to make a hole in their houses and escape, and that way their houses too could have been saved. But many died in the attics and a few made it out. Also something what I came to know were the crosses on every house in the town. The crossed had numbers on two sides and writing on the other two. One showed how many people had died in that house; one that how many animals died and the writing was letters that showed what company helped them.

This trip so far has been really good. Though we didn’t get to build much but there has been a lot of other stuff that is also something that is helping the villagers here. I came to know about some great stuff, about New Orleans and how it was affected.

A Village to Rebuild 

A hand to lend 

A Great Experience

Andrea DiGioia

     From January 4^th to January 10^th I will be spending my days and nights in the Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans. I am spending most of my time with thirty nine fellow habitat members at a community center run and maintained by an inspirational man, Mac. Here, we have heard Mac time and time again tell us of the devastation that this community, as well as many others throughout Louisiana, have suffered as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Families watched as their homes filled with water up 32 feet high, giving them 12 minutes to make it to their attic and break a hole to freedom. People lost their possessions, their pets, and worst of all, family members.

     Six years later the people of New Orleans are still dealing with the aftermath of the storm. Many are unable to afford moving back to their homes, forcing them to die in unfamiliar lands. The lower ninth ward, once having 7 schools, is now forced to place all its kids, kindergarten – twelfth, into one school. Empty and abandoned houses occupy much of the area. People just want to go home and continue on with their lives, and they are having a hard time doing so.

     Here, in this area that has lost so much, we find Mac. Mac is a man of endless ideas and endless hope. Originally a member of  the Lower Ninth Ward community, Mac has made it is goal to fix what has been damaged. He sees potential everywhere he goes. It is Mac who has been our inspiration for this trip. As a group we have heard his ideas and seen what he hopes to do with his community center. Using his ideas as well as our own, we have continued upon his project that has so much potential. We are helping him to create somewhere kids and community members can come to read, play a board or basketball game, or just hang out.

      The community has lost so much and could use something to call their own. That’s what I personally see in this community center and Mac’s project. I see a place for the community to come together and continue to grow. It will give them a place of their own. Slowly this week we have been working on this center. I personally have helped to go through thousands of books that have been donated and work on creating a library for the people. Others are working in the yard, making it a safe place for the children to play. Slowly we are seeing the changes we are making in the community center and it makes me feel good to know that I will be making a difference in someone’s, if not many, people’s lives in this community.

For more information about the Lower Ninth Ward Village please visit their website here and if you would like to make a donation, you can do that here.

Dana Wolkiewicz

After spending 5 days here at the Lower Ninth Ward Village and seeing all the hopefull optimism, it’s amazing to think that the destruction happened more than 5 years ago. The motivation in this community center is incredible. Everyone, myself included, knows about Katrina and the destruction, but it’s much more tangible being down here ourselves. Although it’s been years since the disaster, there is clearly much work to be done around the Lower Ninth Ward. Coming on this trip for my second time around is a completely different experience. This year, I took some time to look around at my peers—watching their faces on the bus tour or while Mack spoke. They may not realize it, but they are the first step in helping New Orleans—to educate. You can’t help a cause if people are unaware that help is needed. After speaking with some of the other students, they were amazed that the city is still in such poor condition. Mack even said that after 2 years, disasters just “disappear” and help is forgotten. Looking at the streets in the Lower Ninth Ward, you would think the hurricane struck only 1 year ago.

Day 1 was a little rocky for everyone, as we were completely out of our element. Halfway through the trip, all 41 of us sat down for a bit of a reflection. We finally put our ideas for the village on paper, and the next morning we started to implement the plans. After 6 hours of working today, you could see huge improvements. I will admit that after day 1, it was hard to physically see that we were making a difference. With only a few days of work under our belts, we can finally see that change. Architecture for Humanity came to visit the village today, and hopefully they will agree to sponsor us so they can improve the village. Tomorrow is the final stretch, and seeing the amount that has already been accomplished in just a few days is unreal. I’m so grateful to be able to go on this trip for a second year in a row, and I hope to continue to do so in the future.

For more information about the Lower Ninth Ward Village please visit their website here and if you would like to make a donation, you can do that here.

Tara Meinck

The Habitat for Humanity trip to New Orleans has been a great opportunity to make a difference in a community that is still trying to piece itself back together. It is great that Mack commits so much of his time and resources into this project and extremely rewarding to see our efforts, combined with those of students from other schools, directly enabling his vision; a safe haven for the community and a center to which it can turn to. At first, the project seemed very overwhelming because there was still so much that needed to be done in order to get the Village into a functioning condition. Without any given instruction it was hard to know what to do.  We had a reflective discussion and decided that we should not wait to be given instruction because it was apparent what needed to be done and impossible to tell over 60 people what to do at every given time, we had to take the initiative. After that, the trip has become much more enjoyable because we are able to do things that we enjoy and get more done. Today we got so much accomplished; organizing a library, painting furniture, making the community center safer to visitors, etc. It was great to see how well everyone’s work flowed together without any instruction. It really changed my ideas on how to be a good volunteer. It is sometimes more important to be innovative than to be told what to do and it’s more fun too. 

For more information about the Lower Ninth Ward Village please visit their website here and if you would like to make a donation, you can do that here. 

Amanda Ippolito

When first arriving to the Lower Ninth Ward Village I was overwhelmed by all the disorganization and clutter. As a group, we finally were able to sit down and discuss a set of long-term and short-term goals to get this place organized and child-safe.  One of the biggest messes inside the Village was the broken, wobbly bookshelves piled with all types of books- new, old, torn, and used. I spent a lot of time today (1/8) categorizing, sorting, and moving the books so they can be more accessible to anyone who comes in and wants to use this library. Despite all the sneezing from all the piles of dust, I feel like I have made a stride toward helping educate children of the Lower Ninth Ward. Since Mac keeps saying that “New Orleans is #1 in crime and murder” maybe finding an escape in books can help relieve some of the transgressions of the community, especially amongst the children to young adults. Although I at first I was disappointed we weren’t doing exactly organized Habitat for Humanity building tasks, I realize that sometimes a little disorganization can help bring people together. J

For more information about the Lower Ninth Ward Village please visit their website here and if you would like to make a donation, you can do that here.

Joe Allen

This is my second year coming to Louisiana on a Habitat for Humanity trip. Last year we stayed in Slidell and did work helping to build a home for a family. This year has been different but still rewarding in the same way. We have been working around the lower ninth ward village helping to improve on what many other volunteer groups have already done.

There was a lot of work to do when we first got here and when we leave I’m sure that there will be plenty left. The ultimate goal for the space seems to be a community center for children to spend their time, but I don’t see this area as a safe place for children to play. As of right now there is a lot of excess stuff lying around the yard and some of it isn’t stuff that something that kids should be around. But we have been working hard to make it a more child friendly environment and I think that we have made a lot of progress.

One of the big accomplishments that I have contributed to was building a basketball court in the main area inside. I think that basketball is a great way for kids to spend their time and having a space for them to play is important. We cleared out a large space and moved a hoop inside, and even put a new net on it. We had a big game last night between a bunch of the volunteers and it was a good time. But one problem that still lingers is the amount of stuff surrounding the area. I think that once the majority of the things in the village are thrown away then it would be a more kid friendly environment.

For more information about the Lower Ninth Ward Village please visit their website here and if you would like to make a donation, you can do that here.

Laura Kowalczyk

This year for our annual build trip, we went down to the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana to stay and work at the community center Mack established there. Since hurricane Katrina, he has converted an old warehouse into what will one day be a functioning community center that the local children can come to. The Lower Ninth Ward used to have seven schools, but since Katrina, only one has been reestablished. With no parks or other centers in this area, the city is doing very little to help the children. Mack has made it his mission to give the local children a safe place to go.

To help Mack make this dream a reality, we have been working the past week to make the center safe and kid friendly. We cleared out and sorted unused furniture, put up and painted walls in what will be a game room, and reorganized and expanded the library. Yesterday we took some of the old chairs, sanded them, and then painted them to make them colorful for the game room.

Today we are painting a huge mural, 20x15 feet, of the United States of America. When different groups come to volunteer at the community center, they will be able to put a dot on the map for where they are from. This mural will be a great visual to show just how many groups from all over the country come to volunteer here. We thought that the mural would be a fun project, but has proven to be more challenging than we expected. The projector we got to project a map of the United States on the wall didn’t work, forcing us to free hand the map. While making a grid to help us draw it on the wall, we ran out of tape. These little setbacks have not stopped us from continuing the map. Hopefully by the end of the day we will have a completed mural of the United States!

There is so much that can be learned from the people down here. Through their experiences, they have learned so much and are just waiting to pass on their wisdom. From talks with Mack, other groups staying at the village, even our waiter when we went into the city, I have learned so much. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to come down here.

For more information about the Lower Ninth Ward Village please visit their website here and if you would like to make a donation, you can do that here.