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 Supporting Common Ground Relief
Since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, thousands of volunteers have supported the vast relief efforts. Shortly after the waters went down, I was part of the initial relief work efforts. A little over two years later, I returned with two members of Pearl House of Peace, Johnny Agee and Tim Fields, to support the on-going relief and recovery efforts of Common Ground Relief. Common Ground Relief was established in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans shortly after the storm. Day one upon arriving late in the evening, we settled in our quarters. We were each provided a bunk and three meals a day in return for committing to two weeks working as relief work volunteers. The organization asks $100 per week per volunteer to help off set the expense of housing and food, if you are able and also, if a person is not going to be volunteering for at least two weeks. But, this can be waived for willing hands who don’t have the money. The next morning, we gathered with the other volunteers, as is the practice of the organization. New volunteers introduced themselves and projects for the day were discussed. Each person had the opportunity to choose which project they would work on for the day. Our first day, Agee, Tim, I and others worked on drywalling a house. This house is part of the NOLA 100 – 100 houses being rehabbed and or built in 100 days for families who had no insurance or economic means of recovering their homes alone. Myke, one of the other Common Ground Relief workers said, "This is a great opportunity to learn construction skills with supervision. All levels of ability are encouraged to help out". Our next project was a wetland restoration project. Many believe, as I, that restoring the wetland coastal areas to be not only environmentally friendly, but also the most important first line of defense against future flooding. Not only that, it is working with nature and be in harmony with her. We planted hundreds of plants that day in one of the bayous which is part of one of the largest wetland preservations within the city limits of New Orleans. The following day, we helped build a fence for an elderly lady. It was a sweltering day! She happened to have an orange tree in her backyard, which had ripe oranges growing. She let me have a couple and they were mighty tasty! During my first relief work days after Katrina, I volunteered with Emergency Communities. I met and worked with Iray. He was a volunteer who initially came to help out for just a couple of weeks. Then, he decided to stay for just a couple of months. Since then, he has moved to New Orleans and is continuing with the relief and recovery efforts. While we were volunteering, he spoke often of wanting to help open a "brick and mortar" community center. At that time, there were none in the lower 9th ward. It was tent city! Over the next two and a half years, Iray and I continued our friendship through primarily e-mail. His dream of helping to establish a community center is now a reality. And, he is the director of St. Bernard Parish Community Center. My hat is off to him for all of his compassionate efforts on behalf of so many devastated by the storm and flood. Each Thursday while in New Orleans, we helped at the Community Center of St. Bernard Parish. One Thursday, we helped unload a truck, and prep and cook a meal for volunteers and community members. The other Thursday, we handed out food and bagged it for community members who needed this assistance. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I had the opportunity to attend at Loyola University of New Orleans a conference hosted by the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives. Tim joined me Sunday for the conference What an experience! So many across the country and even globally are learning the sustainability of worker owned cooperative principals established by the International Cooperative Alliance. The state of Louisiana is even exploring and aiding the facilitation of cooperatives as recovery and rebuilding tools. Now that is exciting! The next three days we helped Malik , one of Common Ground Relief s’ founders, clear his garage which he has been using as temporary storage for donated items. Malik, immediately following the storm, opened his home, which is located in Algiers, Louisiana. It is on the opposite site of the river where the levee broke and flooded the city. He said the highest number of people he counted living with him and his family following the storm was over seventy. Can you imagine seventy people living in your house, garage and camped out in your back yard? And, I’ve been there. It is not a huge house or huge yard. It is just an average house in Algiers. What a compassionate heart Malik has!!! Thursday it was back to St. Bernard Parish Community Center. And, Friday, we worked at the Lower Ninth Ward Village, another emerging community center, which recently received their 501 ( c ) 3 tax-exempt status as a charitable public benefit. We unloaded a big box truck load of donations. That day I met and worked with the young man, Glenn Wooten, who helped to spearhead the initial project, which has been 3 truckloads thus far. He is so passionate about relief work, he is now wanting to establish what he refers to as "Convoy of Compassion", an emerging part of Christ in action. He can be reached through e-mail (glennwooten9@aol.com and by phone at 703-474-4956. He brought together Shine Transportation of Strasburg, Virginia and multiple donators to fill a truck with donations and provide transportation. He said, "Convoy of Compassion is a symbol of hope for the Katrina tragedy. I got the people what they said they needed to support the volunteers and residents". Saturday most of the volunteers from Common Ground Relief attended the 2nd public town hall community meeting of the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans since Katrina. It was held at the Lower Ninth Ward Village. The media was everywhere! Difficult questions were addressed to public officials. And, most of the questions were answered. There was some grumbling from the community residents, but no noticeable hostility. After the meeting later in the evening, Mack, the Director of The Village, as some refer to it, held a seafood boil in appreciation for all the volunteers of that week. We had crawfish, boiled crabs and shrimp with potatoes and corn. It was great. Of course as a born and bread girl from Louisiana myself, I was in heaven! Sunday, we packed our gear and off we went. This whole two week experience was multi-dimensional for us. It was a community service project for Time and Agee to be qualified to move on to Resident Member within Pearl House. It was also experiential learning for all of us. You can learn more about our "experiential education" on the way to New Orleans and our way back home to Anderson, Indiana under Education / MIM’s Empowerment Academy. | Members In Action | | Fire Rising | Archives | Brittany & JPUSA | Heart Art | Fundraisers | Community Service | | Return Home | What's New | Schedule of Events | Our Services | On-line Catalog | Great Links | FAQ Page | Contact Us | Download Page | Get Help Now | |
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