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.

Liz Dufresne

This being my first time on an actual build trip, I didn’t quite know what to expect. I’d heard great things about what Mack had been doing down here with the Lower Ninth Ward Village and after speaking with him at the Building Dreams in New Orleans benefit dinner in October 2011, I knew he would appreciate any help we could offer him down here.

Along with the Lower Ninth Ward Village, Mack is currently working to get a ranch, located two hours outside of the Lower Ninth Ward, childproofed and ready to take on weekend visitors. They plan to take groups of at-risk kids out to this ranch, and get them introduced to new responsibilities – cleaning, feeding, and working with the horses and working on a farm.

We spent a day on this ranch laying some groundwork to get the program under way. Many of us got to spend some one-on-one time with the horses that are currently housed there, me included. The horse I spent time with was one that holds a special place in Mack’s heart – a horse that hadn’t been ridden in over a year due to the devastating blow that Hurricane Katrina dealt to New Orleans and various other complications.

My new friend, yet to be named by Mack, was a very skittish creature, and initially was very unhappy to even be walked out of his stall with me. But as one of the volunteers at the ranch said to me – all he needed was some love, someone to talk to him, and someone to treat him right. Just by being calm around him, talking quietly to him, and being stern, yet respectful, the horse began to cooperate with me. We walked around the yard together, he ate lunch with me, and though it made him a little uncomfortable, he trusted me enough to let me brush his side and back – where he couldn’t quite see what I was doing.

Even though I only spent a few hours with this horse, I formed a bond in that short time that I won’t soon forget. The time spent with him proves to me that the opportunity to work with these animals is not one we can afford to keep from the children of New Orleans, and the Lower Ninth much longer.

           

After our visit to the ranch, we had a reflection with Mack and UC Berkeley, another group that worked with us this week, and the idea of a “Wish List” of all the tasks and projects that needed to be done was made thrown around; with constantly rotating groups of volunteers we thought that this would be the best way to keep track of things done, and things-to-be-done. Later that night we hashed out a wish list of our own – tasks that we wanted to see completed, or at least nearly completed by the time we left.

On our last three days here we have been working, and will continue to work to complete these projects – a large map of the U.S. to show where volunteers have come from, reorganizing the library, repainting what is to become the game room, and completing a shed for all the gardening tools needed for upkeep. With another half day of work to go all of these projects are nearing completion, leaving mostly clean up for tomorrow, and it really is a great feeling for all of us – we can really see the impact we have made on this space, and by talking to the community members, we know they truly appreciate what we have done here.

One of the biggest things I’ve noticed while I’ve been here, is that Mack is a thinker and not necessarily a planner. He has the most amazing and grand dreams of community involvement and improvement, from a football field and a small arcade for the kids to afterschool homework help for kids and GED programs for teens and adults but without the initial tasks of cleaning up the yard and community center, and having a sustainable source of funding for the Village, none of this can happen, and “Wish Lists” can help the program get there.

Over the last few days I’ve heard Mack talk over and over again about how the cavalry hasn’t come, and its not going to come, and I don’t want to contradict a man this amazing and self sacrificing – but he’s wrong. Groups like ours have come down here over the last six years, and continue to come and help him make the community’s dreams into reality. We eat with him, work alongside him, and try to get a feel for the needs of his community, though only for a week or two each year.

We are the cavalry.

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.