After many hours of airports, we finally made it! We had our first full day of work today and we were split up into groups to work at two separate houses in different neighborhoods.  Rachel and I ended up going with Greg to transport all the tools PNOLA borrowed for the Kaboom playground that they constructed last weekend.  Not only was it great to be able to see a lot of the different neighborhoods with someone there to explain everything to us, but it was so interesting to see how many non-profit organizations actually exist and collaborate.  Every place we went was full of new people from all over who were devoting their time to reconstructing New Orleans and helping its inhabitants get back on their feet again.  We made at least six trips from the playground site to three different tool distributers.  They distribution sites work like libraries, except they are full of tools instead of books!   They lend them out to organizations when they need them for projects and to individual families if they have the means to complete projects on their own. 

It was also really interesting to notice the differences in ecomonic statuses that was evidenced by the state of the homes in the different neighborhoods.  Some of the neighborhoods had only faint reminders of Katrina, while others seemed to have made little progress since the storm.  Driving down one street, Greg pointed out that five of the eight homes were vacant.  Many still had the spray paint on the sides of the houses or brown streaks that showed the previous water level.  It was a little eerie to see such reminders.  On one of our trips, Greg took us to see Brad Pitt’s “Make It Right” houses (but unfortunately Brad Pitt was no where to be found! :P) which seem to be giving some families in the Ninth Ward another chance while creating very unique looking houses at the same time.  All in all, it was a very eventful, eye-opening day.  I’m really looking forward to the rest our of time here!

We’ve been preparing for weeks to go, and the moment has finally arrived–I think the common emotion in the group right now is excitement!  We’re all excited to begin our journey and arrive in New Orleans to make a difference, no matter how big or small it may prove to be.  We’ll be there to help, but perhaps even more importantly, we’ll be there to learn along the way, and to carry the message of the ongoing problems in the South back our communities here at home.  The only way change can occur is if there is an awareness of the need of change.   We are to be catalysts for the change that is so needed in Louisiana.

With every reading we’ve discussed in this pre-departure period, it seems that there looms new problems around every corner for Louisianans.  Educational hardships, health care catastrophes, ecological tragedies, race issues, domestic violence, toxic waste contamination, absence of adequate funding, and lack of leadership all plague Louisiana in one way or another.   Most were present before Hurricane Katrina and have been exacerbated after the destruction that she caused.  The media’s influence in this period after Katrina has brought these issues to light, but when enough time passes and Katrina fades deeper into the shadows, the awareness of such problems will inevitably fade as well if nothing is done to mitigate them.  We, as a small group of volunteers from Union College, have an opportunity to do our part in alleviating these issues, but it’s not enough to help for two weeks and come home.  We’ve talked a lot in the past few days about the necessity of continuing to make others aware of the situation until finally change begins to occur.  We can only hope that by the time such change is made, it’s not too late to undo that damage that’s already been done.