New Orleans Reports: Habitat for Humanity
Building the Musician's Village
By: Charles Giuliano - May 11, 2008
Initially, our day long visit to the devastated 9th Ward of New Orleans proved to be shocking and depressing. Here and there were signs of life and homes being rebuilt or now occupied. Given the extent of the damage, and the general economic impetus of a working class neighborhood, there seemed little prospect for recovery.
Talking with local people we were directed to Johnson Street to see a newly rebuilt cluster of homes. There we encoutered the many busy volunteers and staff of Habitat for Humanity.
Noting our Massachusetts license plates, a man ambled over and stuck his head into our car window. He informed us that he is from Stoughton, Mass but had been doing volunteer work all over America for a number of years. He arrived as a volunteer in New Orleans three years ago but, after the first year, was offered a staff position with Habitat. Stating that he was approaching 50 he appeared to be in great shape.
We encountered another group taking a lunch break on a set of steps. Asking where they were from they replied from all over the States as well as Canada. They were in New Orleans to attend an insurance conference and had volunteered a day of their time and labor. As one man stated, having settled many claims, it was interesting to see the source of those transactions as well as an opportunty to lend a hand.
It was uplifting to see these bright, shiny and colorful homes taking shape. The heart of the Habitat project is to build the Musician's Village which will include some 70 new homes and the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music. Not only will the village be home to the musicians but it will also comrpise extensive community and educational outreach. As anyone who has visited New Orleans knows music is at the heart and soul of the city and its heritage. Many of the leading musicians, including the legendary Fats Domino, lived in the once lively and vibrant 9th Ward.
By creating some 150 new homes in the area this is proving to be a stimulus for other reconstruction. But the pace of this proves to be slow. It is a part of the overall mishandling of FEMA and the bungling of the Bush administration.
Just how bad it was we learned first hand when a man came down from the porch of a home that he and his son were working on to engage in a conversation. He, like others we encountered, was welcoming to strangers who took the time to see first hand what the people of New Orleans had experienced. He told us a harrowing story of survival and how he had managed to get to the high ground of a nearby bridge over a canal. There he and others held on for three days without food or water.
When a truck did pull up with a full load of relief supplies the bridge group was informed that it was not available to them and had been designated for another destination. This led to what he described as a bit of "clownin" on the part of desperate people and that the driver of the truck was fortunate not to come to harm. He returned the next day with supplies and eventually they were evacuated.
I asked how long he had been back and was surprised to learn "For the past two years." In all, he owns three houses in the area, one he lives in, another he is trying to fix up and rent, and a third he and his son were repairing for his daughter. He related to us that there was a lot of speculation about properties and attempts to take advantage of desperate owners.
We ended our day having shared in a remarkable and insightful experience. There were mixed feelings including enormous respect for the efforts of Habitat for Humanity, as well as, real anger about our current administration While trillions are poured into foreign wars our government has proven to be inept in handling a disaster of epic proportions and helping its own citizens to get back on their feet. It's time for a change.