Humble Pie

When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, the damage was beyond belief. Everyone knows what happened, so I won't go into detail about that. However, I will relate my experience with some of the Katrina victims. In the summer of 2007, my youth group from church went to New Orleans on a mission trip. By this time, most of the houses had already been gutted, so it was time for renovation. We split up into 2 groups to work on 2 different houses. The owners of the two properties were relatives and had owned a BBQ business before the storm. After Katrina hit, the business was no more. They had put all their money towards trying to get the business up and running again, and they had neglected their homes. Right before they were to reopen their business, a car crashed into the building and everything was destroyed again. Now they had no business, and no money to start repairs to their houses. This is where we stepped in. For a 3 days, we put sheet rock up in their houses. It was tough work, but none of us complained because we knew that we would have a house or a place to stay once we got home. One of the owners had gone to stay with other family after the hurricane and had only recently returned to New Orleans. The other owner, his wife, and two young children returned as soon as it was safe. They, like many others, were given a FEMA trailer to live in. This was inadequate housing for anyone, especially young children. The trailer they received had not only mold but rats. They couldn't even live in this form of temporary housing for several weeks. By the time we came down to help, they were working at steady jobs, but they couldn't afford much in the way of renovation on their skeletal houses. We left at the end of the week having finished the sheet rock in both houses. I'm sure that by now, 2 years later, their houses are finished or nearly finished. However, when we left there were still thousands of houses that hadn't even been touched except for gutting. Hopefully by now that number has decreased.

Had I not gone to New Orleans that summer, I never would have realized how the devastation had affected everyone. I knew that many lives and homes had been destroyed, but it never occurred to me that because of poverty, people weren't able to rebuild their lives. I also now see that I had been taking advantage of what I have. No, I'm not the wealthiest person alive. Heck, I can't even afford college (different blog, different day). However, I have so much more than some of the people that suffered from Katrina. I think that everyone should have a humbling experience like this at least once in their lives. There is still so much to be done in New Orleans and the surrounding areas, so if you're looking for an awesome volunteer opportunity, you should head down there and get involved with one of the many service organizations.