Despite the fact that it is now over 10 years since Katrina caused such devastation in New Orleans, there is still work to be done in certain areas of the city.
There has been an amazing amount of progress in the last 5 years, but there are still a lot of empty homes, vacant & overgrown lots – especially as you get closer to the bayou in the Lower Ninth Ward
Since my last trip, the Lower Ninth has gained a new fire station, police station (police cars were rarely seen on this side of the canal 5 years back) and schools. There are building projects all over the ward…and lowernine.org is still hard at work helping residents that need them.
But, as you can see from this year’s photos, there is still work to be done…
Last time I volunteered I got to work on George Brooks’ mother’s house, so this year I was pleased to get to meet George again…and help to get him back in his home.
When I arrived, the build had almost been completed – the house had been rebuilt – so now it was time to make it into a home. The kitchen was being installed, light fittings went up, George himself had spent hours sanding back the floors after squatters had caused fire-damage and the bathroom needed to go in.
On the first couple of days I helped tile the sun-room while others on the team were re-building the window frames & fitting the electrical points.
Later in the week, I got to tile the bathroom. It sounds odd being excited about all this tiling, but it was one of the skills I wasn’t taught last time I was out here, so it was on my to-do list.
Not me painting (obviously) but that’s my frame – I even routed that window sill!
Towards the end of my stay, my friend took pity on me & all the tiling, & let me loose with the mitre saw & nail gun! (Now you know why I love this place!) Safe to say there is no place in the UK where someone would ask me (5 years on) ‘You remember the saw, don’t you? Can you reframe that window?’ Ha! Brilliant!!
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