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Date 3-16-06
Contact David Tisdale 601.266.4499
New
Orleans—Liz Duckworth took a break from mowing the
front yard of her damaged Marigny Street home in the New Orleans
Gentilly Terrace neighborhood, and her eyes reddened when she stopped
to recount the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
Compromised
by the storm, the city’s levee system failed, flooding her neighborhood
and many others, destroying lives, homes and businesses. More than
six months later, like the floodwaters, her tears still flow easily.
But a smile
pierced the sadness on her face when she talked about the efforts
of volunteers like those of international exchange students from
the University of Southern Mississippi who have come to the Crescent
City to join the “Katrina Krewe,” (Krewe Aiding in Trash Removal
in the New Orleans Area) an organization focused on trash and debris
removal. A group of students from the University of Mississippi
also joined Southern Miss in the effort, along with many students
from other schools in the New Orleans area.
Many city maintenance
workers were laid off because of the storm’s economic impact on
New Orleans, making the task of cleaning up after Katrina daunting,
so the efforts of volunteers are welcomed. “They’re (students) helping
save this city,” said Duckworth, a school teacher on the city’s
West Bank.
Katrina Krewe
began as a group e-mail in early November from Uptown resident Becky
Zaheri to her friends and neighbors, calling on them to join her
in cleaning up debris and trash left from the storm. It blossomed
into an ongoing citywide effort that has attracted hundreds of students
and others from across the country and even from Spain, England
and Germany, she said, with promises of more assistance in the months
to come.
“It’s just a
catastrophe,” she said of the storm’s impact on the embattled city.
“It’s become a junkyard. You can’t just go back and go your merry
way and not respond.”
After traveling
to other parts of the country where litter prevention is a big priority,
she wanted to bring that same attitude back to her hometown by creating
a long-term debris and litter removal campaign, so she and others
could raise their children in a clean environment.
“I really started this because of my kids,” said Zaheri, insisting
she never considered herself an activist of any sort prior to the
storm. “I’m just a mom.”
A determined
Zaheri is now anything but inactive, and with the response from
new friends from Southern Miss and elsewhere, the Katrina Krewe
founder has reason to believe New Orleans can bounce back.
Targeting common thoroughfares and adjoining neighborhoods, the
Southern Miss contingent went to work last weekend, bagging debris
and setting the trash bags in piles on the sides of streets. An
occasional garbage truck would drive by and pick up a few bags,
a welcome sign of hope for those who returned home to this embattled
city.
“I didn’t expect
anything like this (Hurricane Katrina) when I came to America,”
said Southern Miss exchange student Anne Michels of Germany. “It
was an experience - I was really scared. When you see five trees
down on a house, you think about how it would feel if that happened
to your own home, to have everything you’ve worked for and saved
for destroyed.
“So it feels
good to come here to help. I really like New Orleans, and the people
here are doing the best they can, but they can’t do everything because
there’s so much damage. It’s important that people come here and
help them.”
Gemma Booth
of Wales said she would have preferred Hurricane Katrina never happened
but was grateful for the opportunity to come help what she described
as her “favorite American city.”
“I believe it
has added to my experience as an exchange student (volunteer work),
although I would have rather not had a reason to take part,” Booth
said.
“I’ve been to
New Orleans several times since I’ve been here and enjoyed the city,”
said Justin Laflamme of Canada. “It’s nice to be able to give back,
to dig in and do our part to help.”
Alexis Kenner,
program coordinator for Southern Miss International Programs, said
many of the international exchange students had expressed concern
about the devastation on the Gulf Coast and in New Orleans. The
opportunity to volunteer with Katrina Krewe, she said, gave the
students an opportunity to represent their countries and let others
know that “caring extends to all corners of our global community.”
“With that in
mind, I felt like it was important for them to become part of the
solution by getting their hands dirty and making a difference,”
Kenner said.
Those who have
come back to their homes to do repairs or clean up, like Duckworth
and friend Jean Gill, also a school teacher, stopped and offered
water and thanks to the volunteers. A teacher at inner-city Ben
Franklin Magnet School, Gill said the college and university students
are doing more than just picking up trash. “They’re an inspiration
to my students,” she said.
“It’s important
for these inner-city kids to see young people from across the country,
who have advantages that they don’t, come here and show their support.”
For many of
the student volunteers, coming to New Orleans and the Mississippi
Gulf Coast for an ‘alternative spring break’ to help the area recover
from Katrina is in stark contrast to the typical college spring
break ventures to resort destinations.
Gill believes
that’s a good idea.
“It’s a lot
better for them than going to Cancun to party, and they’ll feel
better about themselves afterwards,” she said.
Southern Miss
Assistant Director of Student Activities Mary Beth Walker said several
Southern Miss student organizations plan to go to the Mississippi
Gulf Coast during the university’s spring break April 10-14 to take
part in volunteer opportunities, organized through the university’s
Office of Community Service Learning.
Already, Southern
Miss students have accompanied students from Chico State University
in California and Canada’s University of Guelph on volunteer missions
to the Gulf Coast.
“I think it’s
incredible that our students and those from other universities are
coming together and taking their spring break to go to the coast
and volunteer,” Walker said. “Some of these volunteers include students
from the coast who were affected by the storm, along with their
families. There are still many people suffering from the effects
of this disaster and need help.”
For New Orleans residents like Jennifer Fallon, volunteers like
those from Southern Miss bring not only help, but can spread the
message when they return home that assistance is still desperately
needed across the city and surrounding area.
“The response
has been tremendous,” said Fallon, who serves as university volunteer
coordinator for the Katrina Krewe. “New Orleans includes a huge
metro area, and 80 percent of it was decimated, not just a few areas.
When you watch the news, sometimes you wonder if the rest of America
gets that. So it’s heartening to see these young people from across
the country come here to help, and then they get the word out.
“Somehow, they
get it, they understand it. They’re like our little ambassadors.”
Click to enlarge
Southern Miss international exchange students Gemma Booth, left, of Wales and Anne Michels of Germany pick up debris and trash in the New Orleans Gentilly Terrace neighborhood as part of the "Katrina Krewe" volunteer organization that is focusing on trash cleanup in the Crescent City post-Hurricane Katrina. (Southern Miss Public Relations photo by David Tisdale)
Click to enlarge
Southern Miss international exchange student Justin Laflamme of Canada picks up debris and trash in the New Orleans Gentilly Terrace neighborhood as part of the "Katrina Krewe" volunteer organization that is focusing on trash cleanup in the Crescent City post-Hurricane Katrina. (Southern Miss Public Relations photo by David Tisdale)
Last updated:
03/20/06
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