2008 Woodie Awards
Taking a break to lend a hand
HURRICANE KATRINA: A COMMUNITY RESPONDS
By: Michelle Oyola
Issue date: 3/23/06 Section: News
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Five teams of Webster University students tackled homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The students brought rakes, shovels, crowbars, machetes, hammers and voices of encouragement to keep spirits high. Their noise and efforts also broke the stillness on people's faces, as passing locals thanked students for coming back to the city.
A total of 45 Webster students traveled to New Orleans during spring break. The week began March 10 when the group met in the University Center parking lot to wait for the charter bus, and the drive took about 14 hours. The group gutted a total of 11 houses in the Ninth Ward. The group arrived home at 2 a.m. March 18, after a six-hour delay at a truck stop in Mississippi because the bus broke down.
The trip was organized by the international Christian ministry Campus Crusade for Christ, and a total of about 3,500 students from around the country were anticipated to go on the trip through CCC. An exact count could not be made at this time. In addition to Webster's CCC chapter, the Outdoor Club and Webster Pride co-sponsored the Webster trip.
The Ninth Ward is the poorest district in New Orleans, as well as the most heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The houses in some neighborhoods were damaged beyond hope. Some homes were completely tossed off their foundations.
However, other neighborhoods only have interior damage. The Webster students were divided into five groups and, using a wide array of tools, they removed appliances, tile, drywall, everyday objects and whatever else was in the way until the house was stripped to nothing but its base boards. It is the hope that the home's owners will be able to make a few minor interior repairs and then put new drywall over the base boards.
The estimated 3,500 CCC students didn't all stay in one facility. The Webster group was among about 1,000 students who stayed at the Grand Palace hotel on Canal Street for the week. Although the hotel was located in downtown New Orleans, students were unable to drink the water or use it to brush their teeth. The elevators didn't work, some of the toilets were broken and many of the rooms were boarded up due to mold and mildew.
Even though the hotel had its rough edges, many students were happy with its location. Canal Street is within walking distance from Bourbon Street, the French Quarter and other common New Orleans landmarks.
Tim Patterson, a graduate student in education, said he heard the term "volun-tourism" used to describe the activities of many students on the trip. Webster students, along with many other students staying at the Grand Palace, would complete a long, grueling day of gutting homes, waiting for a turn in the shower, changing clothes and then taking the trolley to explore the city.
Meeting Those Touched by Tragedy
The Webster group gutted houses from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 13 through 16. The house assignments were distributed to the student groups by CCC. Homeowners had previously contacted CCC, and the student leaders of each group were given addresses and phone numbers.
Some of the Webster groups had the unforgettable opportunity of meeting the homeowners of the houses they were assigned to gut.
Junior Maaya Ito, a junior photography major, said she worked March 14 to 16 at a home owned by a family. Although the father was in Texas, the mother and three children were at the home every day the team worked on their house.
Ito said the family didn't actively talk about the hurricane or what it had done to their family. One of the sons, Tommy, 15, was quiet and talked about everything objectively, Ito said. He seemed to have completely accepted everything that had happened to him. Ito said the house was filled with personal belongings, but the mother told the students to throw them all away.
"Mom said, 'All I want is my kids, and they survived. You can throw the stuff out,' " Ito said.
Tommy, however, asked the group to set aside some of his trophies and pictures if they found any in the debris. Ito said they found the items, along with baby pictures that they gave to the mother. The mother said the photos reminded her of the good times.
Senior Amanda Greer, an international business major, was a leader of another Webster group. Her group became close to the homeowner they worked for, Michel, and his wife Rhonda and their son.
Greer said the entire group knew they would get along with the family immediately.
"I think we fell in love with him (Michel) when he asked for a group hug," Greer said.
Michel was a landlord who grew up in the Ninth Ward. Later in life, he bought homes in the area and offered them at low prices to the renters. Michel wants his houses fixed quickly so he can bring some of the people back.
Greer said Michel showed how much he cared for them. He wouldn't let the students go into certain portions of the house because of mold. He also made them breakfast and lunch, while Rhonda brought the group gifts. Greer said everyone in the group exchanged addresses with the family, and many of the students plan to return to New Orleans this summer to help Michel with more houses.
Creating the friendship made the experience all the more meaningful for Greer.
"We can see the hope," Greer said. "It was amazing."
Other student groups did not meet homeowners, but they came across sanitation workers, police and residents passing through while they were working. Many students said just about everyone that passed gave the biggest smile and wave. Some stopped to offer thanks.
"You kids are doing amazing work," one woman said out of her van window as she drove by. "God bless you for returning to our city."
It's a Dirty Job, But …
Webster University students were also in charge of the trash management efforts during the week at Grand Palace. Patterson volunteered Webster during a student meeting. He said he grew up in the Boy Scouts and has strong environmental values.
"It's hard for me to walk by trash without picking it up,"
Patterson said.
About 30 Webster students broke into four teams to collect the trash on each floor on Sunday. Patterson had the idea of pitching all of the trash on a balcony below instead of hauling it down flights of stairs and carrying it to the dumpster. After about eight Webster students removed trash, scrap metal and debris from the balcony, they could easily move the trash from the balcony to the dumpster on the street.
Later in the week, the other schools realized the system Webster had established and took care of their own waste.
Creating Unity
Students from other schools raised their eyebrows when they heard of the three clubs that sponsored Webster's trip: CCC, Webster Pride and Outdoor Club.
Junior Ruth Bohlin, an advertising and marketing major, was the primary organizer of the trip. She is also a member of Webster CCC. Bohlin said her goal was to make the trip appealing to all types of students. Since Webster Pride and CCC are two of the most active groups on campus, the alliance was a natural one. The Outdoor Club was added because many Webster Pride and CCC members also are members of the club and the group needed more support. She said the three-prong sponsorship ensured the trip didn't look like an "exclusive Christian thing."
Bohlin said one of the trip's greatest accomplishments was that 45 Webster students had the opportunity to get to know one another better. Before, students in the group would have passed by without a thought, and now everyone has 44 new friends, Bohlin said.
Sophomore Kim Jones, a computer science major, said she almost backed out of the trip because she didn't know anyone going. She didn't like the idea of being around 50 people she had never met for an entire week. By the week's end, however, Jones said she felt that she had made a lot of valuable friends. Everyone was able to connect easily because they all took the trip for similar reasons - to experience something new and to help people, Jones said.
Jones said she and many other students had said before boarding the bus for home March 17 that they wished they could have stayed longer. They regretted leaving, and they felt if they just had a few days of rest and to nurse their injuries, they could keep working for another solid week. Many students said they plan to return as soon as they are able to help more.
Various members and organizations of the campus community contributed to the trip. The Webster executive office donated $3,000. SGA also donated the same amount. A total of $500 was collected on campus.
EDITOR'S NOTE
Journal staff writer Michelle Oyola traveled and worked alongside the students from Webster who traveled to New Orleans during spring break.