Work in the Lower 9th Ward

Wednesday's service work in the Lower 9th Ward is beyond words. But I'll do my best to elaborate.

Our UHa crew arrived at the Lower 9th Ward Village Community Center (read more about the fantastic work of the Community Center and its Executive Director Ward "Mack" McLendon at http://www.lower9thwardvillage.org/new/) at 9:30am. Partnering with another student group from Camp Restore, we took on a major clean-up project at an abandoned property with a no-longer standing house; all that remained of the space were weeds and dead foliage that stood at least three feet high, bricks, and debris galore: wrought iron doors, oyster shells, chip bags, diapers, beer and soda bottles, jewelry, cds, tools, and much more. I honestly felt as if I was unearthing an ancient civilization, discovering lost artifacts that remind us not of our disparities but rather of our commonalities and shared humanity. It was an eerie, unsettling experience that shook me to the bone. The same feelings--along with great anger and frustration--overcame me when I saw abandoned homes with the spray-painted X's, which signifies the date that the house was searched by a rescue team, the rescue team who searched the home, and the number of dead human and animal bodies found within the home. Our raking, hoeing, cutting down of trees, weed whacking, and picking up of bricks and debris lasted for over five hours, making the before and after of the space as distinct as night and day. The transformation was certainly clear, and the aches we've endured from the strenuous work were absolutely worth it. This was, to say the very least, an AMAZING experience!!

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Debriefing with the Lower Ninth Ward Village Community Center Executive Director Mack was truly enlightening and touching. We asked him several questions regarding clarification on the existing conditions after New Orleans, and we were left even more shocked and disgusted than before. It really moved me when he shared his heart-wrenching experience with Hurricane Katrina, and how he expressed how genuinely inspired and full of hope he was by volunteers like us. He himself is a tremendous inspiration, and for him to say that was wonderfully heart-felt and special.

The fact that there is still an incredible amount of progress to be made, even five years after the disaster, is unreal, inhumane, and terribly disheartening. But people like Mack, the long-term volunteers from restoration camps such as Camp Restore, and all those who are working on a daily basis to re-build and re-invigorate this great city are the true leaders and heroes of our time.

Later postings!!