April 6, 2006

GW Students Spend Spring Break Fixing Fat City

BY JANE LINGO

“In one day, you can help a family start to get their lives back together,” said Jesse Kimball, a senior majoring in English, and one of the 46 GW students who traveled to Louisiana for alternate spring break, March 11–18.

The group, accompanied by staff coordinator Sara Horn of the Office of Community Service, took an 18-hour bus ride to St. Bernard’s Parish, five miles north of New Orleans. There they removed debris from hard-hit houses, ripped out moldy plaster, and prepared the houses for renovation.

“We gutted the houses and left the foundation and frame,” said Marita Whalen, a freshman in international affairs. “With teams of about 12 people to a house, it usually took two days to complete the job.” She added that some families were living on site in trailers provided by FEMA, eager to resume their lives.

“The families, who were often outside their houses, would ask the workers to save special things, like trophies or a prom dress,” recalled Whalen. “Some residents would come by and say, ‘We are on the list. We hope you’ll come to us soon.’ ”
Housed in a tent at Camp Premier, the GW teams began their days early, arriving at the work sites at 7 am, guided by members of Americorps. Other sponsoring organizations for the project, scheduled to end June 30, included Habitat for Humanity and Samaritan’s Purse, organized by Billy Graham. The workday would end at 3 pm when the volunteers would return to camp and stand in line to take showers before returning to their tents.

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