Building Dreams in New Orleans started last year with a trip to Louisiana in January. We all stayed at a mission center in Slidell and volunteered at various sites for the St. Tammany West Habitat for Humanity. One of the sites we visited had a house in the beginning stages of construction and we all learned how to construct the frame.
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| Learning how to frame a house |
It was a really great experience because we got to meet some of the family that the house was being built for. The future homeowner came to the site one of the days we were working to help and was excited to meet us.
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| The future homeowner |
Although some people had previous experience with building, it was a new experience for a lot of people on the trip. Anyone with any level of skill is welcome to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. Personally, I didn’t even know the correct way to hammer a nail, but by the end of the trip I was a pro. I also got to learn how to use different power tools that are used in house construction like a cut-off saw. It is a great feeling not only to learn new skills, but to help people while doing it.
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Danielle (president of WPI Habitat for Humanity) sheathing the house |
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After we had spent the week helping Habitat for Humanity, we took a day trip into New Orleans. Now that we had helped the people of New Orleans, we were able to enjoy their culture. We also took bus tour of all the damage in the Lower Ninth Ward caused by Hurricane Katrina.
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| Enjoying the New Orleans Culture |
At the beginning of the tour of the Lower Ninth Ward, we met Mack McClendon (below) who runs the community center. He started by telling us about his story and how he was affected by Hurricane Katrina.
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| Mack McClendon, Lower Ninth Ward Village (Community Center) Founder |
He narrated our tour, showing us different places where Katrina affected the community. On the tour, the thing that bothered many of us was how quiet and lonely it was. There were lots houses, but very few of them actually had people living in them.
As a result of Hurricane Katrina much of the Lower Ninth Ward flooded. People could not return to their homes, because the water was too high and the government was preventing people from returning to that part of the city. Many of the people that had lived in this area were relocated to different areas around the United States. In the community center, Mack had created a map (see below) showing were all the people of the Lower Ninth Ward had relocated.
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| The Relocation of the People of the Lower Ninth Ward |
The community center was created to bring back the members of the community who have been relocated to different places around the country. They offer services ranging from job training to providing space for community meetings which Mack hopes will entice people to return to their homes.
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| Community Center in the Lower Ninth Ward |
At the end of the tour with Mack, he had us reflect on the entire experience. Most of us didn’t realize how little was being done to help rebuild the village. Several questions came to everyone’s mind, “Where was the government?” “Where were all the volunteers?” “Why aren't people back yet?” Mack explained to us that disaster hits communities hard. There are always people who show up to help in the months after the tragedy but less and less people come to help as time goes on. Many people don’t realize that even after 6 years, a community like the Lower Ninth Ward is still in need of help. For a community to truly recover from a disaster of this magnitude there needs to be a continuous stream of outside help. This is what WPI Habitat for Humanity is trying to do. We are trying to help Build Dreams in New Orleans and we are returning to New Orleans this January to volunteer again.
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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.
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