Progress in New Orleans

By Elizabeth Saville and Samantha Moshinskie
March 19, 2010

A group of students, faculty and staff has decided to spend spring break in New Orleans, helping out in the Lower Ninth Ward. They'll be painting, cleaning, and doing mold remediation to benefit those hit hardest from Hurricane Katrina.

Here are some reflections from social work majors Elizabeth Saville and Samantha Moshinskie. Both were a part of last year's service learning trip to New Orleans and they'll be blogging daily about their experiences this week on Northampton NOW.

 

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In addition to being a student at NCC, Elizabeth Saville also works at Country Meadows, a continuing care community for seniors. She decided to return this spring break because she felt "as though my work wasn't finished."

Thursday, March 18:  Day 4.
I can't believe this week is almost over. It feels as though the work has only just begun. Today we are working on the same house we've been working on all week, and it feels as though we made progress. We got the door painted and the house is almost done! We hope to be able to have the front of the house done by tomorrow.

 

We are working near the historic area of the Lower Ninth Ward, right by the levees. I can't help but compare it to how it looked the last time I visited. While progress is slow, in my view, it looks like the city is working to return to normal.

These people want their homes back; they want their "heart" back.  This, however, is a slow process.  It's hard to imagine that these vacant lots we see, covered in grass, used to be a home where a family lived.

I'm doing my best to describe it all, but to truly understand it you have to come down and see the homes and people firsthand. I am ready for our last day of work, yet not ready to leave. I feel as though so much more work needs to be done. We will see what tomorrow brings as we enter the end of our trip.

 

 

 

If you missed Saville's first blog installment, click here.
If you missed Saville's second blog installment, click here.
If you missed Saville's third blog installment, click here.
If you missed Saville's fourth blog installment, click here.

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Student Samantha Moshinskie was eager to return to New Orleans because "I left a piece of my heart in NOLA when I left the first time, so I'm ecstatic to have the opportunity to return and donate some more time to the rebuilding efforts.

We had a long, tiring trip to New Orleans, but the real work has just begun. We had a great time during our first few days of work in the Lower Ninth Ward. Our group was eager to help and a lot has already been accomplished. Some members of our group have been busy putting up dry wall while the rest cleaned a backyard, which became a dumping ground, and began applying a fresh coat of paint to the exterior of the house.

It is amazing to see how much progress has been made in the Lower Nine since last year. More residents are back in their homes and the community is coming alive again. There is more construction being done and traffic throughout the area is increasing.

Lowernine.org, the organization we are working with, is very short staffed. Although this is unfortunate, it makes our time in New Orleans much more fulfilling. The group has worked extremely hard to get as much done as possible. We have realized how important it really is for us to come here and lend a hand to this amazing city.

Our group has yet to have the opportunity to speak to the residents of the Lower Ninth Ward, but we are eager to do so. Hopefully in the coming days we will have some of their stories to share with you.

Check back throughout the week to learn more about the NCC students' time in New Orleans.