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OSSTF District 11- Thames Valley
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District 11 Office |
Education Matters Online
Volume 4, Issue 3: February 27, 2006
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| It was Boxing Day, and I was
winging my way into Mississippi for hurricane relief, leaving a behind a
family that was concerned for my safety and even more concerned about
the state of my mental health, having chosen to do this. The first indication that anything was amiss came as we began to descend into the Gulfport/Biloxi airport. The only thing clearly visible from the air was the ocean of bright blue roofs—it turns out they were covered with blue tarps. It looked as if far more houses lost roofs than had maintained them. As it turned out, this was just the tip of the iceberg for the people of Mississippi. I arrived before noon, rented a car, and had the whole day to poke around. The gracious woman who offered me a bed and a shower for the ten days (my only other option was to sleep on the floor of a church hall with 130 other people, and only four showers) was able to accompany me. As Kay gave a running commentary, the only word that kept coming out of my mouth was “Wow”. It was overwhelming to see that so little had been done to help these people, and it had been four months since the hurricane. Everyone prefaces sentences with “before the storm…”, and every person I met said, “Thank you for coming to Mississippi.” Each day began at 7:30 a.m., which was the time the agency director asked us to convene at the church. All volunteer groups are being coordinated out of church halls, as there are no other buildings available. Depending on the number of people available, we were then assigned our duties for the day. The first day I spent distributing coats and blankets to people still living in “tent cities”. Not only did I learn how desperately these people needed so much more than coats, I also learned how useless some of the items were that were sent to them. The “gifts” to be distributed consisted of a U-Haul full of coats. Many were dirty and torn, obviously no good for anyone. There were fur coats, faux fur jackets, and a whole bag of winter scarves, and the temperature that day in December was 73°! It was also very distressing to watch people tussle over the best blankets. I wanted to go to a local department store and buy every family there a brand new, warm blanket, except that the store has precious little stock! Other days were spent helping clear debris or doing “tear outs” for the elderly and infirm, who still had houses to live in. The most significant aspect of inside jobs were the smells. Besides mould and mildew smells, there was the constant smell of rot. In just about every house we entered, we had to wear masks. One elderly woman had been referred to the agency by an acquaintance. We arrived at her house to find her living alone, with no family to help. Her neighbour’s tree had fallen on her house during the hurricane and put two holes in her roof. It had also destroyed the back doors leading into her back porch and attached shed. Until we arrived, her roof hadn’t even been tarped! Thus, each time it rained, she got water in her house. The men with us tarped her roof, and added flashing. We ripped the rotten carpet out of her house, and cleared debris from her yard. The agency made longer term arrangements for her to get assistance with repairs. She was so grateful she cried when we left….and so did we. Then there was the great-grandfather, retired from the Sheriff’s department. His new bungalow was still standing, but had had to be gutted due to water damage. He needed help to put up drywall and to remove debris. Again, the men were able to get going at the dry-walling, and the rest of us cleared debris. He was living in a very small, cheaply made trailer on his lot that FEMA had supplied for him. He felt so guilty that he couldn’t keep up with the men (as if they expected him to), and he told us of coming home after the storm and finding a dead 5-year-old in a tree in his back yard, the victim of the tidal surge after the storm. And again we cried. The stories from the local people were phenomenal to listen to, and everyone had a story! It proved to me the strength of the human spirit. I was amazed that some of these people were still on their feet, and functioning. To add insult to injury, the stores have virtually no stock. We couldn’t buy a rake, shovel, wheel barrow, first aid supplies, or nail anywhere in town. People line up at 5:00 a.m. outside of Home Depot to try and get drywall. Roofing shingles are a precious commodity. Roofers, and other construction departments, are gouging. Restaurants have no help. The only service even McDonald’s was able to offer was drive-through because there is not enough available help to open the rest of the restaurant. The Interstate had only re-opened 10 days before I arrived, and debris was very evident all along it….broken trees, twisted metal, parts of houses. Many local streets are still impassable. It is expected to take up to 2 years to reinstate rail service. Bridges are down, and politicians now argue about how many lanes the new bridges should be. Thousands of FEMA trailers sit empty in huge lots, while people still live in tents. Apparently if you didn’t have house insurance, you don’t qualify for a FEMA trailer! There was also a good story on this trip. While just getting ready and loading equipment back on the little bus to go back to the church at the end of the day, a pure-bred Bassett hound arrived at the bus door, rolled over on his back, and waited for the teenagers who were with us to rub his belly. He was dirty, very skinny, and he smelled awful! The kids wouldn’t leave him there, and after checking with the only other houses in the neighbourhood (there were only two of them left), “Sophie”, as the kids called her, boarded the bus and came back to the church with us. The kids bathed her, and went out and purchased a kennel for her. They took her to the local vet to be scanned for a chip, but she didn’t have one, nor did the vet have any lost Bassets. They checked the websites, also, for missing Katrina pets. No luck. Because the local SPCA has so many pets being turned in, they are not keeping them longer than 24 hours. Sophie was not going to suffer any more injustices if these kids had anything to do with it. Three days later, Sophie boarded the bus and headed back to Iowa City with the group of volunteers. She has since been diagnosed with heartworms, and Iowa City has put on a fund-raiser to “save the Katrina dog”. I’m certain Sophie will do very well in the future….and oh, how we wished that dog could tell us where she’d been in the four months since the storm! I came home with many thoughts. The volunteer teenagers, both high school age and university age, were impressive. These kids worked hard from the time we left until we got home. They never complained, and they did whatever was asked of them. I was amazed at their sensitivity to people’s needs, and their willingness to do “grunt” work and make things better. The people of Mississippi were so grateful to those of us who came to help, it was almost embarrassing. It was very easy for me to point fingers at the U.S. government, and its failure to act, but I also have pondered what might happen in Canada if such a disaster occurred. How prepared is our own government? As I reflect on the long days, the hard work, and the overwhelming amount of work yet to be done, I wonder if I’d do it all again…………………….and I know my answer is definitely “In a heartbeat!” |
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