Sunday, March 16, 2008 7:51 pm by Katharine Scott
Today was the first day we finally went down to the Ninth Ward to see the damage there, since it’s received a lot of attention as having been damaged especially thoroughly. Truthfully the damage there was not too much worse than what we’d seen nearby in Saint Bernard’s Parish, which you are much less likely to have heard of. There were however some homes where the front was missing in parts. You could see into the home which was of course empty except for some garbage. But alongside many of such homes were some that had been completely renovated. Rebuilding in New Orleans seems slow and inconsistent, but there is evidence of it.
To a volunteer, an outsider, it feels like more should have been done since it is almost three years after the storm, but the fact remains that it is a slow process, especially for a city that is struggling economically. (Many business are boarded up). Today was our last day here and tomorrow is the big drive home. I feel as though I’ll be better able to reflect on the experience as a whole when I’m back at home (or at least Winston). We had a great last night in New Orleans, with a fantastic dinner provided by alumni Mrs. Currence. Interestingly while we were out driving today we saw yet another motorcade of several police cars and motorcycles. One of the cars contained several intimidating body guards, and in the other was President Bill Clinton, who spoke tonight at Emory. It was exciting and bizarre, and seemed to be another unexpected element of the trip. I’m exhausted even though we didn’t work today, so hope everyone had a great day and I’ll post more soon.