It's been a year and a half since Hurricane Katrina screamed through the Gulf Coast, and neighborhoods are still deserted landscapes of destruction. I spent Christmas Week in New Orleans helping in recovery efforts there and talking with folks who have returned:
Sitting near a campfire, Massachusetts volunteer Mary Gardner talks with WBZ's Anthony Silva about her impressions of New Orleans following the first full day of reconstruction work on a gutted home:
It was almost a year and a half ago that 85% of New Orleans was flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One family is about to become the first to return to their neighborhood:
New Orleans resident Nune Pierre is happy to see a volunteer crew in his home helping him rebuild. Listen to his enthusiastic response when he finds his home almost ready to move in:
During my week in New Orleans, our crew met Delores Bailey who lives in a FEMA trailer with her wheelchair-bound sister. WBZ's Anthony Silva reports that she wants to rebuild her home next door, where her family has lived for 5 generations:
Delores Bailey lost her husband a few years back and she lived with her disabled sister in their old home when Katrina struck. She's now determined not to give up the place her family has called home for 5 generations:
As thousands of homeowners in New Orleans prepare to get their first insurance settlement checks, entire neighborhoods remain devastated. But there are signs of hope:
Teenager Winn Grimm of Martha's Vineyard journeyed to New Orleans with his Federated Church Ecumenical Youth Group to work on rebuilding homes there. Listen to my interview with him:
An evening celebration in a FEMA trailer leads to prayers and hopes for the future of New Orleans. Meet one woman who runs a daycare/community center in the midst of the damage:
WBZ's Anthony Silva speaks with Juliene Williams who runs a combination daycare/community center out of her FEMA trailer. She's determined to save her neighborhood and her dignity:
Juliene Williams' sister surprised with this inspired, heartfelt rendition of "Amazing Grace" as we enjoyed dinner inside her FEMA trailer in Violet, Louisiana:
Dale is a clinical social worker in the New Orleans Public Schools and she's been living in a FEMA trailer for a long time. She's happy to see our volunteer crew finishing up her home so she and her family can move in soon:
James Travis has lived in New Orleans all of his life and he tells me that living in a cup, where the water doesn't easily go away, is just a part of life and part of God's plan:
Michelle Cross of Minnesota drove to New Orleans on the day after Christmas with her three foster daughters to work on houses and learn some tough life lessons. I speak with her while we saute vegetables for dinner:
Listen to WBZ's Anthony Silva describe one street in St. Bernard's Parish, Louisiana 16 months after Hurricane Katrina flooded the area with high winds and six feet of water:
The dead traffic lights hang like twisted pretzels. Street and street after street of homes are still deserted, boarded up or worse. Rotting, moldy and falling down. Few people live here in the Lower 9th Ward. In some areas, there is still no electricity. In others, spraypainted letters on rows of houses betray their deadly secret. T.F.W. It means, Toxic Flood Water. It's (more)
Thank you to you and BZ for this eye opener on the painfully slow rebuild of New Orleans. I have been moved and inspired by each of the reports in the series...the incredible and unspeakable conditions of these neighborhoods and the dedication of the residents and volunteers are deeply inspirational. I hope everyday people will pick up a hammer and head south as I want to soon. (more)
I was privileged to be in New Orleans last April and again this February. A group from the Congregational United Church of Christ goes to New Orleans at least 3 times a month. We all pay our own way and stay at the Good Shepard Church in Medeirie. There are approximately 20 volunteers at one time. Last April when we went, all of us came back with a sense of disbelief as to how this (more)
I have listened intently every day this past week to your series on Katrina. Thank you for this. My son Andrew has been working for Katrina relief in New Orleans and Mississippi since September, 2005. Andrew is a Senior at the Brooks School (North Andover, MA) and founded Students Helping Students (SHS) in the Fall, 2005 to help students ravaged by Katrina. Through his and the efforts of (more)
You captured so many of the chronic problems with the relief effort and yet you were also able to capture the inspirational elements, such as the enduring faith and inherent spirituality of the residents who remain facing the challenge of rebuilding as well as the common decency of the volunteers who are there to help. I laughed and cried and inspiring that level of emotion with your (more)
Anthony, I love your series on Back to the Bayou, especially the segment on volunteers from Vineyard Haven. Please pass on to listeners this information how they, too, can help New Orleans recover by volunteering or sending a donation: Volunteer opportunities in New Orleans http://cleanno.org/volunteer.html Organizations supporting the recovery effort: New Orleans Public Library (more)
(You) skillfully weave the voices of relief workers with those of residents to paint a vivid picture of the experiences of those living and working in St. Bernard's Parish. I think your work is an invaluable resource for congregations considering sending teams (to New Orleans). Gini Courter, Moderator, UUA
Thank you for publicizing the ongoing situation in New Orleans. I was there a week before you, also with a volunteer work group. Saw very little government involvement. There were mostly church and other non-profits. I plan to return as soon as Ican. Hopefully by then more government help will be evident. I'm not holding my breath. Katherine York
I read your online report on rebuilding New Orleans and we really do need a reminder of the situation there. I am grateful to you for noticing. My son, Tommy, was instrumental in coordinating a week in New Orleans with 35 UMass Amherst students. These kids are 18 to 21 years old and they are gutting a 5 story apartment building, removing the entire contents from 200 apartments,
I can't tell you how grateful I am to you and WBZ for shining a spotlight on the unbelievably terrible conditions that still exist in New Orleans even 16 months after the storm. (There are many) ways people can help with the New Orleans Recovery Effort by supporting local non-profit organizations that are working to help victims and businesses there struggling to stay afloat. I know there are
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