Jaime
Kelly's house:
The neighbor's house (and couch):
22 FEB 2008
As we left camp today, I noticed that the Parish has started to replace street signs that were either missing altogether or bent so badly out of shape they were left unreadable. I don't know how many of the 70K residents will eventually return, but to me these brand new street signs symbolize hope.
Jaime
Kelly's house:
The neighbor's house (and couch):
Jaime
Kelly's house:
The neighbor's house (and couch):
21 FEB 2008
It stormed this morning. By the time we got to work, the streets were flooded. The drains and the sewers are still clogged with debris from Katrina.
The weather cleared and the water subsided almost as quickly. After work we celebrated the completion of the project's 100th home! Home owners and volunteers alike gathered together.
Last November, a woman drove by as we worked away on our Habitat home. She rolled down her window and simply asked for help. Five of us spent a half day pulling rusty nails from the studs that framed her gutted home. Before we left, we put her in touch with the St. Bernard Project. I ran into Mary at the celebration. As we hugged she told me that her home is now only three weeks from completion. And she invited me to Mardi Gras next year!
Jaime
The weather cleared and the water subsided almost as quickly. After work we celebrated the completion of the project's 100th home! Home owners and volunteers alike gathered together.
Last November, a woman drove by as we worked away on our Habitat home. She rolled down her window and simply asked for help. Five of us spent a half day pulling rusty nails from the studs that framed her gutted home. Before we left, we put her in touch with the St. Bernard Project. I ran into Mary at the celebration. As we hugged she told me that her home is now only three weeks from completion. And she invited me to Mardi Gras next year!
Jaime
19 FEB 2008
Kelly was four months pregnant with Sebastianne when Katrina hit. With only a three pronged garden tool, she spent hours in her attic carving away at her old wooden roof to escape her flooding home. When the water started bubbling at the floor beneath her, she finally broke through. After days on the roof, she was rescued.
Sebastianne, now 2 years old, will only ever know New Orleans post Katrina. Soon, she and her family will move from their Fema trailor into our project home. She will run around on the floors we laid and she will bump into the walls we painted. That is a pretty awesome feeling.
Meet Sebastianne:
And meet Avienda, Sebastianne's older sister and storyteller:
Last November, Michael and I spent several evenings driving through the Lower Ninth after work. For what little Katrina left behind, it seems there is still so much to see. We have many photos of the quiet and overgrown landscape at dusk. Each time we drive the same streets but notice new and unsettling details.
Jaime
Sebastianne, now 2 years old, will only ever know New Orleans post Katrina. Soon, she and her family will move from their Fema trailor into our project home. She will run around on the floors we laid and she will bump into the walls we painted. That is a pretty awesome feeling.
Meet Sebastianne:
And meet Avienda, Sebastianne's older sister and storyteller:
Last November, Michael and I spent several evenings driving through the Lower Ninth after work. For what little Katrina left behind, it seems there is still so much to see. We have many photos of the quiet and overgrown landscape at dusk. Each time we drive the same streets but notice new and unsettling details.
Jaime
18 FEB 2008
Our bedding arrived at camp tonight. It was our fault that Southwest "misplaced" it, we packed in black garbage bags. At first, I was uncomfortable thinking that my favorite blanket and my favorite pillow wouldn't make it to camp in time to dress my bunk. In perspective, it's a ridiculous thought.
There are now two grocery stores in the St. Bernard Parish. In a county that was once home to over 70K people, now, two years later, there are two grocery stores. After Katrina, there were only 4 homes still on their proper foundation in the Parish. In November, 17K people had returned. And for the most part, it looks the same today as it did in November. I did notice, however, that Office Depot gutted and removed the sign from their blown out building.
We've finished our first day working on our home. For the next week, it will be our home. And eventually, it will be Kelli's home. She'll share it with her mom and her three kids. Like many others in the Parish, New Orleans is their home. Always has been and will always be.
Jaime
There are now two grocery stores in the St. Bernard Parish. In a county that was once home to over 70K people, now, two years later, there are two grocery stores. After Katrina, there were only 4 homes still on their proper foundation in the Parish. In November, 17K people had returned. And for the most part, it looks the same today as it did in November. I did notice, however, that Office Depot gutted and removed the sign from their blown out building.
We've finished our first day working on our home. For the next week, it will be our home. And eventually, it will be Kelli's home. She'll share it with her mom and her three kids. Like many others in the Parish, New Orleans is their home. Always has been and will always be.
Jaime
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