Final Thoughts
The hospitality that has been extended to our group while on this trip has been unlike anything that I’ve ever experienced. The volunteers who donate their time and energies to repairing this city are treated like royalty! I would like to personally thank the Vogel, Schneider, and Currence families for opening their homes to us and sharing their very touching stories about life post-Katrina and offering us their thoughts on the ongoing recovery efforts. The stories of these families and those of the other individuals we’ve encountered this week have made this trip memorable. I have been inspired this week to encourage classmates, friends, and family members to take ownership of New Orleans and vest their free time and energy in efforts that will help restore this unique city to its original glory. I would also implore our government to take a more active role in this capacity. With such a great amount of need remaining I realize that a full recovery for New Orleans and the surrounding areas will take several years, but I can see that the job of recovery has been made unduly difficult by our largely unresponsive federal government. How a government could be so absent from an area so completely devastated by natural disaster completely boggles my mind. Contemplating our departure tomorrow has also made me realize how great an impact can be made in such a short period of time. I can say with a great deal of certainty that there are individuals that our group has met this week that will live in our minds forever. My only regret is that I did not have more time to share with these folks. I can’t wait to see how much has improved when I return.