Habitat for Humanity
Habitat in New Orleans
Back in April 2007, fourteen parishioners headed to New Orleans, Louisiana to help rebuild the city in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, and Rita. At the time, it had only been one year and eight months since the worst national disaster in our country’s history had all but devastated the gulf region. We worked in the upper 9th ward, in a place Habitat for Humanity, Branford Marsalis and Harry Connick, Jr. call “Musicians’ village”. While we were there we got to see much of the devastation, first hand. It was sad, yet the sight of the many new pastel colored homes, gave us a sense of hope. While we were there we worked on the home of a cello player named Helen. Since that maiden voyage back in April, another group went back this past January to see Helen’s house complete and to work on yet another Habitat home. This April, we will go back to continue with the rebuilding effort. If you would like to travel with us to New Orleans, or would like to support this ministry in other ways, click here. Thank you.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
"A Reflection on Coming Home" by Hortencia Barrera
Today, I unintentionally witnessed a heart-tugging moment when Helen Gillet stood in silence taking in the enormity of it all and I can only imagine what went through her mind as she admired what was soon to become her home. Peace, joy, and gratitude enveloped Helen. It was palpable.
Habitat for Humanity equals dignity; with 100 hours of sweat equity and a mortgage; there is no charity here, only the luxury of a new beginning, which everyone, no matter the socio-economic status is deserving of.
My purpose when relating to humanity is not always clear. This week the message is unmistakable. It's cliché really, but as an individual, I can make a difference, and I should be ashamed when I don't step up when opportunities present themselves.
I live in constant gratitude, for God is good to me.
Today, I am grateful for a heart that aches to express love with actions, for the eyes that are capable of appreciating the beauty in the diversity that unites as one to come and make a difference in a strangers life without asking for anything in return; for the hands, these hands chubby and all that clumsily held a hammer and did it's darndest to not fall short on the job and above all the awareness that nothing would be possible without the will of our precious God.
I will go away from this experience having learned a thing or two from my travel companions (and with any luck new friends):
An unabashed sweet sensitivity from a 6-foot plus man.
Humility.
Patience.
Perseverance.
An intrepid desire to do one's part as intimating as the prospect may seem.
Humor humor and more humor, often delivered with an endearing accent.
Thank you all,
H.
. Comments are reviewed and posted as time permits. Thank you.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
5:00 a.m. Hello to everyone out there in cyberspace.
It is Wednesday morning and we are tired and sore but happy.
My apologizes for not updating this blog over the last few days. We are just working a lot and sleeping little.
Monday morning we had breakfast here at Camp Hope and headed out to the build site.
Wow are there a lot of people here. At last count there are over 500 people staying at camp hope. All of us are volunteers, working on Habitat for Humanity homes throughout New Orleans.
When the waters receded, Bradford Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr. partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build homes for the displaced musicians from New Orleans.
Our St. Monica group set out to do some framing on a home in this area.
The day started out a bit slow, trying to read plans, build walls and install various house components.
Three of the four exterior walls were already erected by another group. Our job was to install all the interior walls as well as the back wall.
As the day pressed on, we learned that the future homeowner was a cellist and her name was Helen.
After weeks of planning, a long plane ride and a short nights' sleep at Camp Hope, we were finally building a house.
You can see our progress from the pictures.
Monday night was our first night here, so obviously we were excited to see all that New Orleans had to offer.
After a much needed and appreciated shower, we headed into town.
New Orleans is a blast!
Tomorrow we will start where we finished off today.
Peace,
Frank
. Comments are reviewed and posted as time permits. Thank you.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Hey y'all, where you at?
As you can see, we've been spending time talking with the locals and getting to know the lingo.
Tuesday April 24, 2007 was a busy day.
We framed most of the interior walls. The exterior of the house was being completed while we worked on the inside.
Some of the windows were installed. As you can see from the pictures, we made great progress.
We as a St. Monica crew have a short learning curve. Many around us are quite impressed at our ability and passion to work together to get this house build. It is impressive. So often it seems to surreal that there are fourteen of us here in New Orleans, building a house (many of us have never even swung a hammer before) meeting beautiful people who absolutely love this place.
During lunch, Ricardo, one of the musicians who received a house in Musicians Village gave an impromptu concert for all of the Habitat volunteers who were in the village.
After a long day on the worksite, we headed off to a local cafe to meet Helen.
We were covered with a mixture of sweat, suntan lotion and sawdust. They were very inviting despite our collective odor.
As we entered the cafe, Sharon noticed that the front right tire of our minivan was losing air. As it turned out, we had a nail in our tire.
When I entered the cafe I asked around about where I might get a flat fixed.
A young, bubbly woman gave me directions to a flat fixing place only a few blocks away. While I was away, others in the cafe struck up a conversation and discovered we were talking with Helen, the woman whose house we were working on for the past two days. When she realized who we were and that we were helping to build her house, she got even more excited! She is so thankful for all of the hard work everyone is putting in to help build her house. Even though we had just met her, we kinda felt like we already knew her because of her open and outgoing personality and humble attitude.
She was amazing. She played the cello while singing all the songs in French. Some were uplifting and fun, others were slow ballads, and even a very poetic war song. In between, she told us a little about herself. Helen's mother is American and her father is Belgium. She spent several years in Belgium, hence the fluent French while singing. On Thursday, she will bring some of her bandmates to the site of her future home to give a little concert at lunch time. We hope to have more time to talk to her and learn more of her story.
At the cafe, Helen's bandmate, Darin, came to talk with us about living in New Orleans and her experiences during the flood. She and her husband live near Lake Ponchetrain. Her husband had just left for a business trin in India for 5 weeks. When Darin got word there was a storm heading to New Orleans, she mentioned that she may evacuate. When the storm looked like it was still heading for New Orleans on Saturday, Darin packed up and headed to Columbus, Georgia (about 300 miles northeast of NOLA). The roads were clear, no traffic and she safely made it out of town. Sunday dawned and a mandatory evacuation was ordered for the city. This is when the mass exodus happened. In the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday, August 29, 2005, the levees on Lake Ponchetrain and Industrial Canal were breeched in 5 places. As we all know, the entire city of New Orleans was under water. Back at Darin's house near the lake, she fortunately lived on higher ground. At the height of the flood, there was six inches of water in her house and then it went down to porch level until the waters started to recede. While staying with her friend in Georgia, Darin watched images of her city under water. That same day (Tuesday), her friend was having a party and one of the party-goers mentioned to Darin that she wore the same size and offered her some clothes. This is when we all got choked up listening to her story and seeing her get emotional just remebering. When this stranger offered her clothes, it dawned on her that she would need them. She didn't know what the condition of her house was or when she would be able to get back to her life. Six weeks later, Darin came back to see the damage. Compared to those who couldn't find their houses when they returned, she was lucky. Others, in other neighborhoods, had to walk several blocks to find where their house had floated to. The only thing they had left was the clothes they left with and a foundation on their property. She was able to get a FEMA trailer in her driveway fairly quickly (I think within a few weeks), but it took THREE Months to get the electricity hooked up. By the time FEMA got the electricity hooked up, Darin was able to get her house fixed. Not to worry, the trailer got lots of use by volunteers coming to help. It was a happy day for Darin and her husband when FEMA came to take the trailer away two weeks ago. For them, it means they are moving on with life.
Back to the remainder of our evening. After Helen and Darin's gig at the Sound Cafe, we headed into the French Quater for dinner. Thanks to the suggestion of man we met on the street, we went to the Napoleon Restaurant. We all tried their award winning warm muffaletta sandwiches (a very New Orlean's thing). Amazing Jabalaya with a little zing to it. We ended with a great bread pudding with a rum sauce.
Internet connections at Camp Hope are slow, so we don't know when we will be able to send another message. But right now we are sitting in a club listening to another of the musicians getting a Habitat house in Musicians Village. After a few songs, I hope we can make it back to camp before curfew. So we will end here and talk to you soon.
Frank, Sharon, and Marianne
. Comments are reviewed and posted as time permits. Thank you.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
5:45am - Our plane left LAX en route for Huston, TX, with a final destination of New Orleans. As the plane ascended over Docweiler Beach, I thought to myself that only eight weeks ago, this whole trip was just an idea. Thoughts do become things and whatever we think about all day long can come into the physical reality.
I remember walking along that same beach many months ago, asking God what I was supposed to do with my life. Being a contractor in Los Angeles is rather easy. Good clients, good money but many times unfulfilling. I had a hunger to do more than just work for those who could afford my services. Here in L.A. we demolish perfectly good homes and build huge mansions. In New Orleans, people do not even have homes to demolish. I prayed a lot and thought a lot about how I might use my talents to help those who had lost everything.
I believe this trip is what God wanted me to do. This desire to help with Habitat and come to New Orleans was a nagging feeling that so often was cemented by daily events. I would pray for guidance and then by chance, I saw the Spike Lee Documentary about Hurricane Katrina. Time would go by and then I would see something in the news about the rebuilding. It got to the point that I could not ignore what I felt I needed to do.
So here we are, the plane took off and we were on our way.
After a long trip, we finally landed at the Louis Armstrong International airport. It seemed so apropos that as we walked to baggage claim, the song, "Oh When the Saints Go Marching In," was playing over the airport speakers.
I thought, this could not be more perfect.
We got our rental vans and headed out to Acme Oyster Company. The food was amazing!
On our way to "Camp Hope," a converted elementary school, where we would be staying, we did not see much evidence of any storm, let alone a category 5 hurricane and, and, and... then we turned a corner, on our way to St. Bernard Parish and the van went silent.
It was if we were transported to a war zone. Empty buildings everywhere, many were leaning as if a small breeze would knock them over. They were spray painted with markings that indicated that FEMA, Search and Rescue, or the New Orleans Police Department had searched the building.
It was eerie. Nothing like anything I had seen before.
After we checked in at Camp Hope, a small group of us decided to venture out to see the city and stop and get water for the upcoming week.
We toured the Lower Ninth Ward. It was unbelievable. Streets and streets of abandoned homes, many with FEMA trailers in front of them. There was one home where the search and rescue team had found the body of a little girl. It was just sad and shocking at the same time. There was a small memorial on the outside wall of the home.
We got a little lost and by chance, ended up at the Habitat for Humanity site we are going to work tomorrow. I think we had had enough of the devastation and God led us to a happier place.
There were rows and rows of brand new homes. All the homes were painted with bright Easter pastel colors. It gave us a sense of hope in this place that has experienced so much despair. Everyone in the van started to talk and joke again. It was uplifting.
Tomorrow we get up at the crack of dawn to start our project. Who knows what we will be doing. We are on the job site from 7:30am to 3:30pm. We hope to sample some local coffee and beignets (a type of pastry).
We have lots to look forward to.
Thank you to everyone who has supported our efforts.
Your prayers mean a lot.
Peace,
Frank Casano
. Comments are reviewed and posted as time permits. Thank you.
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New Orleans Trip Photos. Click the link to view online photo albums about the trip at SnapFish.com.
Blog Entries
May 1, 2007
April 25, 2007
April 24, 2007
April 22, 2007
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