Deanna Cavallaro

This is my first habitat for Humanity trip down to New Orleans, and it is a little bit different than I expected. I pictured my trip to be mostly constructing a house for a family, however we ended up helping Mack. When we first got here the warehouse had junk all over it so on the first day we cleaned up some of the really cluttered parts. We spent hours carrying chairs and tables from the inside to the backyard. We looked at the empty room and Mack always says that this village is supposed to be for kids. We asked Mack what he wanted to do with the empty room and he decided it was going to be a game room. We got bright Habitat colors and dry-walled and painted the room. From the chairs we found before, we took six sturdy ones and painted them to match the room. It was really cool to start and almost finish this room because seeing the entire transformation was incredible. That was probably my favorite part of all of the work days.

Other than the workdays at the village, we had gone into the French Quarter and spent all day walking up and down the streets. It was amazing because culture here is so different; everyone is so kind. We met a waiter named Raffle and he told us some awesome stories about living in New Orleans. We had also gone to a ranch of Mack’s friend; the highlight of my day there was finding and saving four puppies.

The village has already come a long way in the three days that we worked here and I can tell there is a lot of hope for the future. Once the village is complete it will be so useful for the community and all of the children and I can’t wait to see the progress in years to come.

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.

Brianna Maljanian

This past week we stayed at the Lower Ninth Ward Village to help Mack fix the place up. The center will eventually be used as a place that the children of the community can come to. But when we got there, everything from chairs to lamps was in piles and we didn’t know where to start. On our first day we sorted through a lot of it and put it outside. It felt as if we were just moving things around and not making progress, and everyone realized that we needed to change things up.

We knew we had to have a group meeting in order to get anything done because there was so much to do. We were initially expecting there to be tasks set out for us to do when we got here, but we quickly realized that no one was going to tell us what to do. We knew there was so much to get done, it was just hard to know where to start. I took two and a half pages of notes during our meeting last night of just our ideas. That showed me and everyone else how productive we really can be as a group, and I thought it really brought us together. It really showed today when we got right to work at nine. There were so many different tasks going on and so much got done. I helped to paint the game room, reorganize the library, and sort the miscellaneous items that have been stored at the Village. At the end of the day, the library looked like an actual library and it was really satisfying for everyone who was helping out. I learned that it is so important to take action instead of waiting for someone to tell you what needs to be done. All we had to do was sit down and look around, brainstorm, and take action.

Listening to Mack speak is always a pleasure. He has the biggest heart out of anyone I have ever met, and is so passionate about making the Village a place that is safe and fun for children. I love that he has all these ideas, and he really needs people like us here to help push to make these ideas happen. It still amazes me that this many years after the hurricane the Lower Ninth Ward looks as bad as it does. I have been so honored to be a part of helping making it a better place. Mack always calls us his heroes, and we really are because we continue to give him and the community hope that their home will be restored.

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.

Cait Kelley (CK)

After meeting Mack for the first time back in October when he came to visit WPI, I was inspired by his story and the work he does, and have been so excited to come and see what the Lower 9^th Ward Village was really all about. Me and a group of 5 other friends in Habitat for Humanity decided to come down early to explore more of New Orleans before the rest of the group arrived. We got to see a Saints game, the Sugar Bowl, listen to great jazz on Frenchman Street, and see the world famous Bourbon Street. But even after all of these exciting things, I think one of my favorite parts of coming early was getting to hang out with Mack. We got to be his family for five whole days. Even more, seeing how the Village runs on a daily basis, meeting the few workers that come by every day, and getting to have a meeting with Mack to help him create his plan was great preparation for the group coming to meet us. We even got to make friends with the handyman, Slick, and he brought the six of us to his house for authentic New Orleans “soul food”.

At first glance, the Village is just a converted garage. But the more you look around and spend time here you feel the love and the deeper meaning behind the project. You see all the banners hanging on the wall and know how many other schools have put time and effort into this. You see all of the donated items that people brought to Mack hoping he could use them. While we were here someone even donated an entire duplex for free. It’s only a couple blocks away and the plan is to use it for more housing and offices. The entire community is behind Mack and the success of the Village.

But despite this sense of support Mack needs more help. He doesn’t have enough people here everyday to accomplish all of his ideas. Our group’s main task while we’re here is to clean out and reorganize all of the donations to make a workable space for the Village to continue to grow. As a group, we have also been making task and idea lists for our group and future groups to work off of to make the Village the best that it can be.  I truly believe this place will be the hub of the revival of the Lower Ninth Ward and we are the beginning. 

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.

Chris Welsh

When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast with vicious force and anger I was sixteen years old. I was able to understand that there were thousands of people dying due to this storm and even more people in need of help. Love from all around the world poured into New Orleans to help the victims of this disaster, and I became inspired by these people. However, at the time, I was unable to go to New Orleans because I was not provided with the opportunity. Most disasters do not receive enough recognition once a few years after the storm pass. The news coverage shifts to other stories and many people remain as helpless victims. My sister, however, traveled to New Orleans two years after the storm and shared the stories of the devastation that still remained. Because of the facts that she provided me, I was aware that the people in New Orleans still wanted and needed many people’s help. For these reasons, I became even more compelled to travel to the city and provide my assistance.

I came to New Orleans for the first time last year, and was able to gain firsthand experience of the devastation that remains. Last year however, I was a little upset that we were not doing direct work in the city. Instead, we were working in Slidell, Louisiana, about an hour outside of the city. Therefore, when I found out that this year’s build trip would take place directly in the Lower Ninth Ward, I became ecstatic. I was finally able to fulfill my desire to help the people in this city.

Now that I am here, in the heart of the Lower Ninth Ward, I am able to see and talk to the people that were most affected during this disaster. I feel proud of both myself and of my fellow classmates for the tasks that we have accomplished thus far. The major task that I am trying to complete during this week is building a shed to store the tractors, tools, and scrap wood. Slick, one of the workers in The Village, told me that they have had many tools stolen because the tools have no place to be stored. Hopefully this shed will prevent these things from being stolen. I am glad that I came on this trip and have been able to have a positive impact of the people of 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.

Johanna Hartmann

Community service has always been very important to me. I was ecstatic when I discovered that WPI had Habitat for Humanity and joined right away. Unfortunately, I did not go on the first build trip to New Orleans. However, I heard so many great things about it, especially about the Village of the Lower Ninth Ward. After listening to my peers rave about the trip and all of the wonderful things they were able to do. They were so adamant about helping Mac and coming back.  Their passion for helping the Lower Ninth Ward was truly inspiring. I was so excited to have the opportunity to come down there myself. Mac gave us a tour of the Lower Ninth Ward and immediately I was able to see with my own eyes the devastation that had occurred and the dire need for help. I was excited to get to work as soon as possible.

This past week we have been working on the Village, turning it into a community center. The overall goal is to create a place for kids and teens to come for recreational and educational purposes. I specifically worked on cleaning, organizing, and creating a room for a library. Mac already has such a vast array of books and toys, there is so much potential. We worked on taking this potential and turning it into an organized playroom/library for kids and teens. 

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.

Scott Turgeon

What is the village? Today it’s a mass of college students doing everything from cleaning the kitchen to painting walls and making a library. In the near future it will be a sanctuary for children to come and read or do homework and play games with other kids. A place like this is a necessity in the Lower Ninth Ward because there are not currently any places for them to go and just be kids. There is only one school that can’t contain all the local kids and no parks for them to run around and play. With the help of people who care. Mack McClendon is devoting his life to changing this and it starts at his village. 

While the village’s ultimate goal is to provide a safe place for kids, it also is becoming a hub for the entire community to gather and decide how they want to shape the neighborhood where they live. This is being done by having monthly town hall meetings and also by helping people who are still displaced by hurricane Katrina find ways to move back to the community. There are still large portions of the ward that are vacant lots where houses and families once stood for generations. The end goal of this project is to get all of those people back on their feet again and to provide a bright future for the next generation that is growing up 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.

Brittany Rhodes

During my time in New Orleans, I came up with an idea that would show where the people who came to help at the village were from.  Originally, I wanted to create a giant puzzle of a map of the United States.  When a group came to the village, they would add their state’s puzzle piece into the giant puzzle. The goal would eventually be for the puzzle to be completed by having at least one group from every state come to the village so that the entire country would be involved in rebuilding the village.  The puzzle would symbolize how the village is a puzzle in itself that just needs help to be put together.  After talking to Mack and the rest of the students here from WPI, we came up with a better idea. We are now in the process of transferring a giant map onto the blank wall in the main room above the stage.  We are going to paint all the states different colors with a big star on New Orleans.  When a group comes to the village, they will mark on the map with the name of their group or school.  This way, it is sort of a giant pin map. As of this point, we have made a template for the map, but it still needs to be enlarged onto the wall.  This should be a very difficult task but it will have a great impact in the end.  Mack also came up with an idea to go along with the map.  He wants to make a chart next to it showing how much money has been raised for the village by each organization.  We might try to put a big meter that can constantly be changed showing the increase in funds. I hope that the wall will be done by the time we have to leave, but as long as it is started another group can finish.  Being in the village has given me a new perspective and appreciation for my own life.  I am glad I am part of this incredible experience that can benefit so many in the end.

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.