9:08 AM Tue, Apr 03, 2007 | Permalink
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By Amy Troy
I can't get their faces out of my mind, can't believe their dedication.
They're grandparents like Charlie and Margaret who are living with seven family members in their FEMA trailer next to their home in the Lower Ninth Ward. It's been nearly two years since the floodwaters literally jolted them out of bed. Charlie is disabled and couldn't swim so he and three family members climbed into the attic and waited for a boat.
He calls the first responders who plucked him from his roof "angels."
His family fled to Mississippi, came back in June of 2006. They've been paying on the mortgage the whole time, yet their home is inhabitable. They have this undying "Get 'Er Done" attitude. It's been nearly two years since Hurricane Katrina, yet the insurance company won't pay so the family has hired an attorney. They won't have money to rebuild the home until the insurance money comes through, so they're recycling building materials. They're grateful kitchen cabinets and historic tile will stay. Their home looks amazing considering it was under seven feet of water for weeks. They're hopeful they'll be able to live in it again one day.
Charlie and Margaret are among about 800 families who have moved back to the Lower Ninth Ward. It used to have a population of nearly 19,000.
The scars left by the flooding are overwhelming. Much of the vast neighborhood is a meadow of weeds, broken foundations. Electricity was restored to Charlie's area of the Lower Ninth Ward in January of 2007. JFK Jr. School will finally open in August - a full two years after Hurricane Katrina.
Members of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association tell me it's been 20 months, and the place looks 100 percent better, but it will take 20 years of work before their community will be back to pre-Katrina standards.
They're grateful to see Oregonians here volunteering to help clean up and rebuild. They want to see more Oregonians and more people from all over the country here to help. The job is simply too big for Charlie and Margaret and their neighbors. They need support from people with strong shoulders, and support from Lawmakers with political weight in Washington.
Want to help? Call the "Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement & Development." It's a community center opened with seed money from Mercy Corps. Someone at this center will be happy to hear from you. Call (504) 324-9955, or email Sustainthe9@gmail.com
In the meantime, Charlie shows off his long-stemmed rose bush. It's come back after the floods and it's now eight feet tall. In all this destruction he says he still gives a rose to his wife every morning.
So last summer i went to Mississippi on a mission trip to help out hurrican victims, and i think its amazing because even though some of these people have lost so much they are still hopeful and grateful for everything.I think that it is reall cool that you are down in New Orleans right now.how hot is it there?
Amy
Were there other blogs regarding this topic posted by Amy Troy? I was born and raised in St. Bernard Parish, neighboring parish to the ninth ward, and I would like to follow her story.
Thank you.
Please give us a break from the never ending,always whinging people from New Oreleans. These people build near the coast, below sea level, high water table city and then boo-hoo unending because "surprise" they get hit by a really bad hurricane. I have never heard this much whining from any other state when hit by these types of storms. What about Texas and Oklahoma with tornados? California with their earthquakes? The Northeast with their winter storms? Every state has some disater at some point. Every state has people die. Every state has loads of people who lose their homes due to weather or massive fires yet New Orleans has bithched moaned and complained longer than any state I can remember. The reports of fraud, wasted funds,lost money, misused credit cards are appaling. With healthcare needed so bad everywhere, schools underfunded, veterans hospitals in disrepair, roads falling apart, and our taxes so high we can barely afford to pay them enough is enough. I am sick of listening to any more of it. Take a lesson from John Kennedys 1962 speech. Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.
Hello Amy,
I saw your story on KGW tonight and have to tell you what a wonderful gift you are all giving to the victims of Katrina.
I would also like to tell you I saw the Governor on the news last week and his work as well.
I would like to let you know my best friend, Tim Moles, from Oregon went down to Louisiana in February 2007 and his crew from Baker County. They went down to help with tree work under the Disabled Veteran Owned Business of Stones of Iron Rod, LLC. Tim took his equipment and headed down to help the devistated area working under sub contractors. He said FEMA no longer is helping people remove dead and damaged trees, dangerously hangin over their homes. He would like to take over where FEMA left off. I just thought you would like to know there are other Oregonians down there helping people already. If you would like to interview Tim Moles, or talk to him about all Oregonian teams working together, he can be reached on his cell phone of 541-519-5633. He has been working in Jefferson County, LO, staying in Slidell, and staying in Ocean Springs, MS and helping in local neighborhoods with private work.
Thank you.
I rarely take time to voice my opinion on these formats BUT....the story and video of the puppy who had been abused in the most henious way haunted me all night. It frightens me that we live in a world where anyone could torture a helpless animal and the reasons that may lie behind it frighten me too. Am I just horribly naive?