Almost five years after Hurricane Katrina hit the Louisiana coastline, New Orleans is still undergoing restoration. With the celebration of the Saints winning the Super Bowl and the focus on Haiti and Chile's destruction, the devastation that still wraps around parts of New Orleans is sometimes overlooked.
But four Ball State freshmen took the initiative over Spring Break to help rebuild "The Big Easy."
Ethan Johnson had been in New Orleans a year after the hurricane and decided to return after his friend Blake Mohler mentioned going to Haiti. Along with Hannah Shaw and Jessica Jonkman, he chose New Orleans instead.
"While we were down there I saw a ton of construction everywhere," Shaw said. "You don't hear about New Orleans very much anymore, but it's evident they need help."
Instead of going with a church or school group, the four signed up on their own to work with Habitat for Humanity. While down there, they spent one day exploring the city and two working on rebuilding a house.
During those building days, they joined up with a Baptist church group of college students from Illinois and some others who had come individually. Altogether, the volunteers repaired the roof and replaced and painted the siding of the house.
Jonkman had taken mission trips through her high school and church in years past, so she was used to working on houses. After Shaw approached her with the idea, Jonkman took the opportunity to volunteer again.
"It gives me something worthwhile to do," she said. "I really like helping people instead of just doing something for myself."
While driving through the neighborhood to get to the house, Shaw noticed all of the destroyed homes had an "X" on them, signifying that they had been checked by an agency after the hurricane. Two numbers were written on them: one for the date they were checked and the other for the number dead they found in the home. While most homes had a zero, Shaw said they saw one with a four marked on it.
"It's really crazy that in an area that productive and happy there had been all that pain. [The X's] were a really big reminder," she said. "You think about how long people built their lives there only to have it all destroyed in a couple of days."
The trip was not all focused on the destruction though. On their day off, the four walked around the French Quarter, taking in the culture. Johnson's favorite part of the trip was the food.
"We ate out every night," he said. "Jambalaya. You don't get food like that in Indiana."
After their experience this Spring Break, Johnson and Mohler are already making plans to do something similar next year, possibly with a bigger group.
Want to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity in a group or individually? Visit www.habitat.org.
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