Day 3

update 1-07-06

Day 3: Getting the Job(s) Done!

    Today's post is going to be a bit different than normal, we are putting up our favorite pictures of the day along with a caption or statement about this photo and how it has had an impact on us personally.

Ricardo and Kristina: Clearing of Trees for FEMA trailor

The second project we worked on today was clearing a lot to bring in a FEMA trailer for someone to take residence. Our first honest impression of the lot was that there was way too much for us to do. But we set aside those lazy fears and got to work.

            We scoped out the 18 by 80 foot dimension we needed to clear and our Americorps crew leader, El, prepared his chainsaw for the upcoming challenge. He hacked and we hauled. The task then started becoming more difficult with the discovery of thorny bushes, that seemed like they would never end. We all walked away with battle scars from this.

            People were coordinating well to get this task done effectively and efficiently. Some people hauled to a midpoint, others hauled from the midpoint to the pile, and others enjoyed more thorny bushes. The pile by the road grew and grew with everything being cleared out. The job proved to be quicker than we thought. It snuck up on all of us because El’s loud roar ended with his confident “done!”. We certainly did move slow at first, but found that working together, and with a common goal in mind, we could get much done in so little time granted- a common theme/idea reoccurs in this infant club.

Gretchen:

This is a picture that seems to be reoccurring here in the Gulf Coast, it is one of many scenes that evoked emotion that could only be expressed with silence. Physically only the foundation of the home remains, but memories of that home and its destruction will not be soon forgotten.

Leah:

An almost eerie task, it took 8 of us just under an hour to sort through the random samplings of family’s life together in between the shattered glass and shredded walls scattered about their lawn. We were reminded of the pre hurricane normality of their household as we picked through poker chips and pieces for monopoly. We were shown windows into their past as we sifted out family photos and handwritten poetry we said that we could, setting it aside on an old lawn chair which we ultimately decorated with a blanket, some salvaged pictures and a navy uniform with two medals, undoubtedly worn at some point with a great degree of pride. What we were able to do today for that nameless family have a lot more to it than just shoving a pile of storm damaged debris across a lifeless lot…. It involved bringing the community of Pass Christian one step closer towards status quo ante bellum.

Elisa:

One of the first tasks assigned to us was to clean up the debris left in a home of an elderly couple after finishing most of the job, the couple invited us to the back of their house to celebrate a special event. The couple (Mr. and Mrs. Willis) introduced us to a tradition that happens in the South every year, specifically 12days after Christmas. The tradition was to eat King Cake every day starting Jan 5^th. Until Mardi Gras (Feb. 28^th).

            They served us each a cup of warm cocoa and a slice of King Cake. Then they began to tell us about the tradition that the Southern culture have carried out for a long time. The king cake had an oval figure and it tasted like a cinnamon roll. The unique part of it is hidden inside the cake, it’s a plastic baby and if you get the baby you have to buy the cake for the next day. In the south they eat one of the King Cakes every day until the festival in New Orleans. Mrs. Willis informed us that they adopted this tradition from the French; many other cultures carry out similar traditions such as this one, especially those cultures who are predominately Catholic. We were very excited to partake in a Southern cultural tradition. It felt very hospitable, educational, and close to be there and take part of their colorfully rich culture. In the end, one of our members, Whitney, found the baby and promised to bring the King Cake next time she’s in the South. I’m so glad Mr. and Mrs. Willis welcomed us to be a part of one of the best things the South’s known for, their purple-green and gold festival. It was a great experience to share two different cultures. After all when in the South, do as the Southerners do, eat King Cake!!!

Melanie:

(Debris which needs to be hauled away is to be piled within 10 feet of the road. There are 350 miles of destruction stretching from Louisiana to Alabama)

 

Everything here is steeped in irony. We’ve helped throw away several house holds and we’ve brought our own plates and silverware to avoid using disposal at meals.
 Everyone is seeking to throw things away. There is no such place as “away” but the entire contents of homes, towns, cities need to be relocated and rendered harmless.
 Extracting more resources and producing more goods will contribute to environmental degradation yet there’s been no effort to recycle and very little which could be salvaged.

We flew here and we’re already used a tank of gas-global warming agitates more frequent and intense hurricanes. We’re earnest and hard working.

The crap wasn’t out of here by Xmas, 4^th of July would be optimistic, and it must surely, at times, feel as though Hell will freeze over first.

Well this wraps it up for January 7, 2006. I am very proud of the work that we have been getting done, and all the members of this group. Every day it seems as though we have been in a thousand places doing a million things, and meeting people every where we go. Thus far this trip has proven to be life, mind, and emotionaly impactful. I hope ya'll (a new word i picked up here) keep up with our club, and talk to you friends, the work here isn't even close to being done. This place looks like the hurricane just struck yesterday, and no one is talking about it. So take a stand and bring it up with your friends and co-workers, let them know that the people and help is still desparately needed.

Day 2

Updated 1-6-06

Day 2          

       Today proved to be a very exciting day with many tasks at hand. We needed to drive the hour and a half to Baxterville Mississippi to visit our school who’s’ library we have adopted, as well as meet with the fine folks from the University of Southern Mississippi, and then come back in time to get a good amount of work done with Americorp here in Pass Christian. The day started off early with a 5:30 wake up call for our group, we got up early enough to have breakfast and then be off on our journey to Baxterville to meet our adopted school. Albeit early after a long day of traveling, we were all optimistic and eager to take on the projects we needed to get done.  So after a delicious breakfast at the FEMA food tent we headed out on our first task of the day. The drive to Baxterville added to the continued devastation that we have seen all over the gulf region as of now, we did notice less severity in the damage as we went farther inland. After our nearly two hour drive we arrived in front of a modestly sized k-8 school which is Baxterville School. This mostly brick built school was for the most part in good condition, except for a large chunk missing out of a separate brick building. This building is holds the library for the school, along with other classrooms and computer labs. The Principal, a man who goes by ‘Coach Knight’ to the students, gave us an absolutely insightful tour of the school, which involved going from classroom to classroom to meet the students and talk with them. Our first class was the computer lab, which was comprised of 5^th graders learning to type without seeing the keyboard. We were surprised with the excitement of these kids, and their enthusiasm in welcoming us to their school. After presenting to them who we were and what we were doing, we took questions from the kids. They were very excited about hearing answers to the questions of what California was like, they wanted to know what people were like there, and what types of foods we ate, and what we did for fun. We all had a fun time answering them, explaining that we actually had a lot in common with Mississippi, and in fact we do. Then we had the pleasure of walking around and handing out bookmarks (which were made by an awesome school in Redding, California when they held a book drive for our club, which brought in over 1,000 books!). The kids were ecstatic about the book marks especially after they heard it was made by kids their very own age, and every book mark was different and unique. Some represented California, while others were of their dreams to reach the far off reaches of outer space. One kid specifically asked for the one that expressed the need to give books to read, and were happy to share with their friends in Mississippi, she was grateful to hear that people in California (what she described as across the world) would care about their tiny school so much and bring them gifts. These bookmarks proved to be more impacting than was initially thought, showing kids that they are not alone, they have friends across the country who share the same dreams and aspiration as they do, and that maybe one day they will see each other when they achieve these dreams. The kids also inquired about our school, so we showed them around the Humboldt State University website. One young girl was excited that we had a softball club, she bragged about being ‘hind catcher’ for her softball team. I made a new friend in that classroom today, his name is Dustin, and he told me of how in family lost their trailer they lived in. Dustin is a quite young man who sits near the back of the class and gets his work done, very polite in his manner, and very appreciative of everything he has. His room was smashed in by a tree that fell on his family’s trailer, and his family has been staying with his grandmother until they get their new trailer from FEMA. He said to me in his soft Southern Mississippi accent “When dark come, that big oak done fell on my room and smashed the living room just the same. I never really had much, but the little I had meant a lot to me, and I lost it all. Thank you so much for come such a far way to bring us a new library, I’m sure your books are just great.” I have never been so touched, this easily made the hours of meetings; fundraisers, book collections, and website building, all seem like not enough. Dustin chose the bookmark of a sunset over the ocean, and said he would come and see it someday, and I know he will.

 

            We then went on to see more classrooms of students and explained who we are and what we are doing to try to help them.

First Day in Pass Christian

First Day in Pass Christian

     After over 12 hours of flights and layovers, the final 7 members of Books Building Bridges arrived in New Orleans today (Thursday January 5th). The initial mood on the plane was of excitement among the members, unable to sleep during our red-eye flight, and talks of what we were doing as well as what we thought we would see. The plane quickly grew quiet as we neared New Orleans, looking in awe with scattered debris, and houses seeking shelter under water proof tarps. After regrouping at the airport and picking up our van we drove from New Orleans to the Americorps Camp in Pass Christian. This drive was long, quiet, and full of remorse as we traveled this trail of destruction, full of upside down cars, trees broken in half, and houses left forgotten in their ruins. Searching through the town for the Americorps Camp gave us the opportunity to see the town in greater detail, truly feeling the impact of the hurricane over 4 months later. Finally arriving at the Americorp Camp, we were given a in depth tour of the town, as well as some of the amazing tales of survival. One story told of a distressed police squad who fled the water in their station and took up refuge in the library. The waters will keep rising and trap police officers in the library who try to shoot their way out, however it is the assistance from other police officers that help them barely make it out. The destruction of the town seemed unreal and fake, sometimes it becomes hard to hear but almost impossible to see. There is a brief feeling of how large this problem is, and how useless you feel in regards to the size of the situation. This feeling goes away as we saw the impact outsiders have made in this town. The Americorps Camp is up to around 40 volunteers, a majority of them from out of the state. This camp is an organized town called ‘The Village’, made up of army cots and large army tents. There are many amenities that have recently been added, including a brand new laundry facility made of donated washers and dryers, which will offer free services to all the towns’ people and the volunteers. All of us came together today to handle separate tasks around the town; we worked with others to help remove the debris of a destroyed cemetery. After a hard day of work and grumbling stomachs, we all head to a place called ‘God’s Kitchen’ that has handed out free meals since the disaster happened. They say that as long as people come to Pass Christian to help clean up this mess, they will always have free meals, which are incredibly tasty. As the day comes to an end we all gather in our tent we call home for now, and work on our books that we will deliver to Baxterville School in the morning.

We've Made It!

We've Made It!

We now have two of our members in Mississippi! Jed and Whitney have made it to Gulf Port and are having a great time. The following is an update on how things are there as of now.

  The news outlets have painted a dismal view of Pass Christian, the appearance is still fairly dismal, however the spirit of Pass Christian is very upbeat and alive. There are still about 100 people living in the tent community. <!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--> <!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->

This town that was once full of houses and buildings is now made up of tents and portables. The Police station is next to the tent where the Americorps headquarters is located, and is currently operating out of a portable trailer. The Municipal building is in the same situation running out of two portable trailers placed together, however they are nice portables that meet all their needs.
Some of the first buildings being rebuilt are the town's churches. There are about 70 volunteers as of now; working side by side with the towns people to get these buildings back together. The work day for the volunteers begins at 8:30 am and ends around 5. Our two members there now have spent the last couple of days working in an animal shelter where there are over 125 rescued animals. When a day of hard work is over the volunteers gather in the community tent for a night of movies and laughter. The community tent is open for everyone and is a good way for the volunteers to meet up and hang out with the local people. Jed and Whitney have been enjoying their stay very much, as the people there have been absolutely incredible, with their open arms and determined attitude things are getting done. Whitney described her initial views of the town as very remarkable, as the fog was rolling out and the sun was high, there were no shadows from the sun, which gave an ominous feeling. However the dark clouds came in over the ocean, which is about a 5 minute walk from camp, and gave a spectacular lightshow of purple lightening. There is not many people living back in their own homes for the town of 7,000 with about half of the town having running water.

           

    The rest of the members are scheduled to be in Pass Christian on the 5^th, and are very excited for their trip. There is not many places where internet is accessible in Pass Christian so updates may not be as often as we would like. However please continue to check out the site and follow along with our journey. Thank you all very much for your support. Please check out the North Coast Education Summit this February at Humboldt State Univerity, as well will be giving a presentation about our club and travels to Mississippi. Peace to all.

This is an image of a destroyed library.

 

All images are courtesy of 

 

About This Exciting Page!

    This page is currently under construction. This page will soon hold pictures, interviews, and details of our trip, while we're there. Follow along and see where your donations are going and how they have helped! Our club has been working solely off of donations, so whether you donated $10 or $500, your money helped contribute to what you will see on this page.