By COURTNEY CARR
Staff Writer
Last week, 14 students and two Saint Rose faculty members boarded a plane for spring break. What made this trip different from most other student’s vacation travel plans is the fact the group was boarding their plane to go to New Orleans, not to party but to volunteer. I was one of those 14 students and briefly want to explain what the group did and why we did it.
When we arrived in New Orleans on March 3, we got right to work the next day in the Lower Ninth Ward. The Lower Ninth Ward was the area most affected by Hurricane Katrina and, although Katrina hit eight years ago, there is still so much to be done. Our group volunteered with an organization called lowernine.org and under their guidance, our group began to rebuild what people lost so long ago.
Our group was split into two groups that each had a faculty member and were sent off to start making a difference. My group was sent to two locations over the course of the week and we did everything from pulling out insulation to removing roofs. One of the most memorable interactions that our group had was with a long term volunteer at lowernine.org . Darren has been at lowernine.org since before Saint Rose started volunteering and because of this he has become an integral part of the experience. Stephanie Santiago, who has gone on this trip twice, has nothing but kind words to say about the man who lost everything in Katrina – including family members. “Darren McKinney is someone who has lost everything in one of the worst hurricanes to hit the U.S., he wants nothing in return. All he wants is to help bring back his family and friends”. This sentiment by Santiago is the feeling held by nearly everyone that the man has come into contact with in the past years.
Our groups also had the pleasure of working with the homeowner’s one-on-one during the week long break. Much like with Darren, the group had only the most positive interactions with these people that also lost so much. In total, the group worked on four houses. One of the most memorable homeowners was Mr. Cowboy Lewis. Cowboy, as we called him, (it was his nickname when he was young) has a smile that could brighten anyone’s day and the most used phrase in his vocabulary is “Yes-Indeedy”. Cowboy’s infectiously optimistic personality showed that the people affected by the hurricane never lost their spirit and love life to the fullest even after all they have been through. It was gratifying to see the impact our group had on people’s lives even if we were only there for a week.
At night when the group was not working on houses and volunteering we were able to explore all that New Orleans has to offer. The group ventured to places like Bourbon Street, Café Du Monde, and the French Quarter. We even got to taste alligator – a local favorite. A highlight of exploring was when we all got to go out dancing on Bourbon Street. This was because the band that was playing was everything that you would expect for such a music rich culture and environment.
Tara Parker, the student leader of the trip, summed up why our group went to serve by saying “to put a smile on the face of even one of the people that we encountered that week was worth it all”. The take away of this trip was knowing that we helped change people’s lives for the better and the friendships that were forged through the hard work. Although there is still so much to be done in New Orleans, especially in the Lower Ninth Ward, the only bright side is that it leaves more work for the next group of Saint Rose students to tackle next year.
