Author: apontec

This trip has been a great experience. While many of us thought we would be here solely for volunteer work, I find that many of us are leanring more about Hurricane Katrina, Camp Coast Care, and ourselves. The people we are helping are all so different. They all come from different areas and classes. I have learned how important it is to realize that everyone’s experiences of Hurrican Katrina were different, and although everyone was affected somehow, everyone was affected differently. I initially believed that we would help those who were most in need – such as those who literally do not have a home because it was demolished in the hurrican. Rather we are helping out people who simply need our help. If they weren’t in need of help, we would not be here. I think this group of ASBers have realized that we sometimes need to step outside of the box, and put ourselves in the other person’s shoes because there is always two sides to a story. In order for us to get the most out of this experience, we need not only to volunteer, but learn about those who we are volunteering for such as the home-owners and organizations such as Camp Coast Care.

While it is a great feeling to actually do the volunteer work, I am glad I am here because I WANT to be here. It was very rewarding today though because my group fixed the citing of the wall we somehow managed to destroy even further yesterday (reference “when the water pipe broke” for that traumatic experience…) I think the home-owner would be very pleased to see how dedicated we were to fix that wall after all the troubles there had been just for 1 wall. Hopefully I will continue to see this type of progress while building here for the rest of the week!

After our first day of work, our group got together to reflect on everything we have experienced thus far. We wrote an amazing paragraph we wanted to share with everyone. I wrote one sentence, and we went around a circle allowing each person to add one sentence to the paragraph. The catch was, the person writing was only allowed to see the sentence prior to there’s, not the entire composite. The following is a reflection of our emotions, questions, comments, and reflections.

Natural disasters can be more harmful and disastrous than I ever imagined. I was oblivious to how Hurricane Katrina affected Mississippi and areas other than the 9th Ward. I knew that Katrina affected Mississippi, but when I looked around, the houses seemed to be in tact and New Orleans was considerably worse – what’s up with that? I think that people quickly forget big events in our lives. We have forgotten about Katrina and its victims because it is not on our TV every night. We rely on TV too much. However, Katrina impacted many people. This camp as an example, has so many diverse volunteers from so many places. People forget quickly, but those who are affected are here. Those affected by Katrina appreciate our work more than we will ever know, since we are only here for a short time and don’t see the effects of our work. But we definitely feel that they [Katrina victims] are grateful for our willingness to help. You have to wonder what the victims have done for the past 4 years. After 4 years, the devastation should be fixed and rebuilding should have finished. Even if rebuilding isn’t finished, they should have at least started working on all the neglected neighborhoods. When people are in need, time is of the essence no matter what the circumstances, and other peripheral and unnecessary concerns should be put aside. Always be willing to help out others selflessly so that you come across as sincere.