2008 Service Trip to New Orleans

I can’t believe the week is already half over. I feel like my eyes have been opened to so much in the past few days and I know there is still so much more I need to learn. I’ve been working at the St. Bernard Community Center and enjoying it mainly because there are so many opportunities to listen and talk to the people there. We get to fold clothes and clean, but we also get to listen to the stories of so many people.

One of the women I was lucky enough to listen and talk to for a few hours was an older woman named Mary. Her story more than broke my heart. She not only lost everything in Katrina, but suffered through a nasty divorce, lawsuits regarding flood insurance with her sons and many other things that no person should ever have to go through. All she needed was someone to talk to and it barely took us any effort to sit there and listen to her, but it made all the difference to her.  At the end of the day when she was leaving, she was in tears while thanking us for helping her and told us that we had truly touched her heart and helped her through one more day.

There was also a woman who was in a wheelchair who rode over 14 blocks to pick up groceries and needed help bringing them back to her trailer. Half way through the walk back the battery in her chair died, and three of us had to push her in her chair along with a full grocery cart of food another 7 blocks. As we were slowly but surely on our way, a man in a Jaguar honked at us to get out of his way. My jaw dropped. The stark contrast between the two situations shocked all of us. As we kept walking, I couldn’t help but think about the underlying question that keeps presenting itself over and over again—how can some people have so much and others so little? As we drive through neighborhoods that alternate between falling apart and run down houses from the storm and rebuilt mansions, I can’t help but wonder if the gap will ever close and what we can do it close it. It’s a great feeling to know that we’re making small but significant differences in these people’s lives and I’m excited for the rest of the week!

I knew that I wanted this spring break to be different. Instead of going to the beach or going home to relax and focus on myself, I really wanted to get outside my comfort zone and do something for someone else. During the school semester I love to volunteer and it’s a great feeling to get off campus and help out in the community. As I researched different types of service trips, I found the Wake Alternative Break program. I connected with Devin and found out she was trying to put together a trip to New Orleans. It was exactly what I had in mind!

Having never been to New Orleans before, I was relieved to find out Devin had family there and was personally connected to the cause. We got together and traded ideas of what we wanted to do and decided to go through the program Relief Spark. After only a little advertisement of our trip around campus through flyers and e-mails, we were overwhelmed with the number of student applicants, and increased our initial group of 10 to 15.

We got a great group of people together. I can’t believe it’s already here and we’re leaving tomorrow. I know we’re all really excited about getting down there and getting started, and hopefully we’ll make it through the 12 hour drive!