Volunteering in Hurricane Katrina-Devastated New Orleans.
 

When I heard of Hurricane Katrina's occurring, I was really dismayed. I wondered what the real cause for the whole situation was. At times I thought that it was being overemphasized, but I really wasn't sure. In any case, seeing all the despair and destruction made me want to help out in any way. When I actually went down to New Orleans, I was in shock at the extent of the devastation and the hopelessness of it all.

My chance to help came through a trip organized by the Ohio University Campus Crusade. The night they asked about interest in the trip, 150 people signed up, and 81 eventually went. The first thing we did after we got to New Orleans was to assemble wooden pallets in the area in which we were to sleep. As soon as that was done, we were ready to work.

We had daily meetings that included prayer and worship, along with an update of what was going on. Some groups went out to evangelize while others went to work with Habitat for Humanity. My particular group helped clean up a college football stadium that had been used as a temporary shelter. In addition, we organized donated clothes, books, toys, and other materials. We worked in the store that provided free food and clothing for survivors who had stayed in the area, and on some nights we cooked dinner for them. We helped clean up and organize things at a local Catholic school, where a camp had been set up to feed workers and residents. My group also helped at a warehouse that housed the majority of things donated to help the surviving residents. We delivered these items to needy families in the projects (subsidized housing situated high enough that it was not flooded, but whose residents were still affected by polluted water supply, lack of power, loss of jobs, etc.). The items we delivered there included bottled water, food, and toys.

My goal in going to New Orleans was basically to help out. However, this turned out to be a life-changing experience that has heavily influenced how I view life now. The transformation was gradual; I did not seem so affected when I first got to New Orleans because my mind was occupied with the determination to work hard and complete my tasks. During my nine-day stay in the "Good News in Bad Places Camp," events from perhaps two or three of those days really affected me. Among the experiences that combined during that time to effect this change were: working in the warehouse, visiting the projects, cooking breakfast and dinner in the camp, and evangelizing in the Ninth Ward. All of these went together to help me gain real knowledge about the situation in New Orleans. Even though we were only a small proportion of the people who had gone there to help, the majority of the people were excited to get to know us and to give us work to do. They were also thankful when it was done. These experiences taught me not to take what I thought I knew for granted, or to be taken in by media reports, which seemed to downgrade what was happening in New Orleans and probably every area hit by the hurricane.

Volunteering is a great thing. Helping out in New Orleans was a privilege, and I would go there or anywhere else to help out again if I had a chance to do so. Before I graduate, I have plans to volunteer at Camp Emmanuel in Honduras. After graduation, I want to be an interior architectural designer. Through this occupation, I hope to start up an international company centered on corporate building design. I want to handle everything from project design and construction to furnishings and interior design. I look forward to opening up community centers, private schools and colleges, and even starting scholarships that support students throughout their entire college careers from undergrad through their Ph.D. Big plans, I know, but with determination and God on my side, all of this is achievable.

Compiled by Musonda Kapatamoyo, PhD.
For the President's Office for Diversity
2007