New Orleans Perspective
By Molly Galdston '09
My week in New Orleans was undeniably challenging and upsetting, but I am filled with a certain exhilaration when I reflect back on the experience, run into group members on campus or look at pictures. When I applied to go on the Alternative Winter Break Trip (AWBT), I in no way imagined falling in love with the City of New Orleans, its residents or my peers from Wheaton -- but that's exactly what I did.
I believe that Hurricane Katrina and the damage done to New Orleans will go down in history as one of the defining moments of my generation. I decided to attend AWBT because I wanted to look back years from now and be able to say that I was there and that I contributed to the rebuilding and restoration of this great city and the lives of its citizens. I still identify with that initial instinct, and now it is supported by the power of the stories I heard and the conditions I observed. I feel a deep connection to the people of New Orleans, and a responsibility to bear witness, as my words now carry a small piece of all of them. Through my voice, come their tales of the past and their hopes for the future.
I signed up for this trip independently and, although I knew the names and faces of a few of the other students, I had no idea what I was getting myself into socially. The weekly meetings in the months before our departure left me with very little information about the nature of the trip, other than the basic goals of this type of volunteer effort.
When I arrived at the airport in New Orleans on January 6, 2007, all bets were off as to how the trip would go. But there was little time to think about that. The first few hours were a blur of settling into our housing in a former Salvation Army adult rehabilitation facility in Jefferson Parish. As we sat down to the first of our nightly reflection meetings and the voices of my peers revealed their expectations and goals, I realized that the group leaders had done a remarkable job: 34 like-minded members of the Wheaton community were ready to get to work.
Hosted by the Nazarene Disaster Response, we spent the week refurbishing five parks in the parish of Gentilly. This part of Gentilly is defined by Lake Pontchartrain on the north and the London Avenue Canal on the west. Due to the neighborhood's proximity to these two water sources, it suffered irreparable damage from both the Hurricane and the engineering failures that followed. The London Avenue Canal Levee and floodwall broke during or right after Katrina hit, causing the water to rise high enough that the houses in the area were completely submerged. Today, the structural damage and the toxic residue from the floodwaters have left these dwellings uninhabitable. This formerly well-kept, working class neighborhood is almost completely abandoned, and the few residents who returned are now living on their front lawns in FEMA-issued trailers.
After touring the city it was clear that this is not an uncommon sight. Although tourist neighborhoods like the French Quarter, which support the majority of the city's economy, have been restored, the population in New Orleans is only one half of what it was before Hurricane Katrina. Besides its economic implications, this loss has been incredibly upsetting for the people who have returned. Community members find it difficult to perceive a sense of unity when it feels as though so many of their neighbors have abandoned the effort.
Every morning, our group piled into five minivans and caravanned (some more successfully than others) to our worksites. We worked from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., digging and raking through an overwhelming mass of matted trash. It was more like an archaeological dig than a community service project: insurance cards, plastic toys, food wrappers, bottles, cans, clothing, and photographs˘all evidence of a normal existence forever left behind. We created mounds of garbage to be collected, mowed the grass, sanded and painted playground equipment, and remodeled baseball diamonds. By the end of the week we had restored all of the parks.
Although I found the work physically and emotionally demanding, it came to life when two neighborhood children dropped by to shyly ask what we were doing. When we explained, they immediately offered to help. It was then I realized we were not only giving these children a place to play again, but restoring their sense of normalcy and, hopefully, giving them a measure of faith in the future. In many ways, finding and maintaining that faith is the greatest daily struggle for the people of New Orleans.
Perhaps the most important lesson I took away from my time in the Crescent City is what it means to its people to have groups like ours come down and volunteer. It has been sixteen months since Katrina struck the Gulf Coast and New Orleans has almost completely disappeared from media coverage, even though so much of the city remains in ruins. All the residents we met -- from politicians to the powerless -- had the same request: go home and spread word about what you saw.
I am thankful that I made the decision to participate in the AWBT. It motivated me to take initiative on many fronts, especially intellectually and socially. I have learned through this example that in order to enlighten myself about certain important issues, I have to actively pursue the information and experiences that lead to true knowledge. Keeping up-to-date with the news about New Orleans is helping me feel connected to my time there and to remain involved in its restoration. Having experienced the unbelievable chemistry of a team brought together by common goals, I am continuing to strengthen the bonds I formed with my group mates, while I seek out other activities which might provide similar opportunities.
We 34 Wheaton volunteers are fulfilling our promise to raise awareness about the situation in New Orleans through a few different avenues. On March 21 and 25 we will host multi-media presentations designed to inform our community about our experience and thank those who provided financial support. As I look through my photographs from the trip, I am saddened by the tragedy that continues to unfold in New Orleans but determined to do what I can to continue to help. I am proud to have been a part of AWBT and grateful that Wheaton is a community that makes such efforts possible.