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BY APOLLINE BERTY

In print | January 25, 2007

From Jan. 8 to Jan. 19, a group of 17 students returned to New Orleans to volunteer aid in reconstructing the city that had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina over a year ago.

According to Sabrina Danielsen ’07, the trip participants were divided into two groups. During the first week, five students and three faculty members worked with Relief Spark, a group run by a woman from Los Angeles who used to work at a high-end dog clothing boutique consulting firm before deciding to come to New Orleans to assist in the relief effort.

“She was used to having 15 volunteers maximum, but this time there were 50, so it was very disorganized,” Danielsen said. “But we did work hard and got a lot done.”

The second week, 11 more students arrived, and the group began working with Common Ground, an all volunteer organization that contributes to the relief effort.

“As soon as the second crew flew in it was freezing,” Danielsen commented. The building they were staying at, which was previously St. Mary’s School, had no heating and the temperature dropped precipitously when the second wave of students arrived. Four of them got sick as a result of the inclement weather. But in spite of the cold, Danielsen said that Common Ground was more efficiently organized than Relief Spark.

Marina Isakowitz ’09, another student who participated in the relief effort, was impressed by what Common Ground had been able to achieve through its recruitment of unpaid relief workers. “Considering that Common Ground is entirely volunteer-run, I found it very well-organized. I have a lot of respect for it,” Isakowitz said.

Danielsen said that she and her peers were moved by the extent of the destruction they witnessed. Students spent much of their time gutting houses, an activity that Danielsen found to be “very emotional work, as you must pull out destroyed personal items and sift through them to choose what to keep,” Danielsen said. “It makes you realize just how fleeting all material possessions are.”

But while gutting houses consumed much of the group’s energy, there was no shortage of other projects in need of helping hands. “People were gutting houses faster than Common Ground could add them to the list [of houses to be gutted]. So we weren’t gutting houses every day.” The volunteers also cleared out storm drains, worked at an animal shelter, helped prepare food and took turns with security shifts. Evan Trager ‘08 also worked for a day with Common Ground’s “house of excellence,” which is involved in contacting past volunteers, encouraging them to return and providing them with housing when necessary.

“There’s always stuff to do and New Orleans needs a lot more than just gutting,” Isakowitz said.

Trager found that one of the things that the New Orleans residents really appreciated was having people listen to their stories.

“A lot of times these people want someone to talk to, to listen. I felt in these people a strong feeling of abandonment from the system,” Trager said.

As for the overall experience, Isakowitz felt that the first time she went to New Orleans, there had been a greater sense of optimism among displaced residents.

“Things were going to get better, the city would be able to be rebuilt, and people would be able to move back in,” Isakowitz said. However, from a logistical perspective, the outlook was much less hopeful. According to Isakowitz, many houses had sustained structure damage so severe that they had been bulldozed instead of repaired.

Although Trager was hopeful that the situation might yet improve, he said that the government is not doing enough for New Orleans.

“There is no political power for the people there,” Trager said.

Danielsen largely agreed, saying that while gutting is very helpful, there is a demonstrated need for licensed contractors who can rebuild the damaged houses. Furthermore, Danielsen expressed concern that the relief effort had been tainted by racial discrimination.

“Can we really rebuild the old New Orleans, or will it only be the privileged who can afford to come back?” she asked.

Overall, the volunteers returned from the trip with a sense of accomplishment, although they acknowledged how much work remained to be done.

“It’s a shame just to see the destruction. You should also see why it’s worth rebuilding. It’s beautiful,” Trager said.

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