The last full day is upon our group. We all spent the majority of the day in La Place, a city about 45 minutes outside of New Orleans. In La Place we worked on gutting a storm damaged home, removing lathe from the walls, cleaning out dirt and "de-molding" the walls and studs. To say the least, this was tough and tiring work.  In fact as I sit here writing this, the entire group is showering or lying down trying to rejuvenate for our planned dinner at Deanie's tonight.

Looking specifically at today's work, I can say that we all feel like we accomplished so much. Seeing the progress we made on the home in La Place is extremely nice after a long day of pounding, sweeping, pulling out nails and scrubbing walls. Even though the trip is coming to an end, the entire group has so much to take back to Hamline. Doing this work has definitely given me the motivation and urge to continue volunteering back in Minnesota.

Tonight is yet to happen, but as I said we are all going to celebrate all the hard work we have done this week by going out to eat and discover whatever we can of this great and unique city. Since our flight is at 6am tomorrow, most of us are going to pull an "all nighter" as we have to leave to the airport by three o'clock. Most of this night will consist of packing and cleaning our apartment. Saying goodbye is always bitter sweet however, the time we have spent here will be forever unforgettable. 

A warm goodbye from New Orleans! See you soon Minnesota!

~Sam

Today half the group went La Place and the other half went back to Ms.Jessie's house. I was in the group that went back to Ms.Jessie's house. We had some finishing touches. For most of the time we painted but the rest of time we got the opportunity to get to know her on a personal level. Which just brought more life to this trip. I'm looking forward to coming back to New Orleans and visiting her.

La Place

Today half of the Hamline crew traveled 40 minutes outside of New Orleans to work on a house in La Place.  We were given respirators and other safety equipment to use for the gutting of the house.  Most of our day was spent ripping down walls and disposing of debris.  Some of us also learned how to treat mold and worked to prep the walls for later reconstruction.  After a long day we were caked with dirt and other things but it was well worth it because we were able to see a huge difference from our group efforts.

~Sara

Connections to Community

Selene gave a great overview of what we did today. To recap, we read with students at KIPP, visited Mary Queen of Vietnam, and attended an open mic heralded by a Hamline alum.

We have met a plethora of people so far in New Orleans, and we have had some unbelievably engaging and thought provoking discussions. All week we have talked about the sense of community down here in New Orleans. It is so alive, so prevalent. Down here, everyone is connected, everyone is recognized as a sister or a brother.

This is something I admire so much about the culture down here. It was even prevalent in the classrooms we visited today at KIPP. When a student speaks or answers a question, other students wiggle their fingers in their direction to send them positive "energy" in order to have the courage to speak up and loudly, and to answer the question correctly. Additionally, students are encouraged to snap when they hear something they agree with, like, or support. This fosters this incredible sense of community within the students. They are all working together to be successful.

I can't help picturing a world that had this sort of support on a daily basis. What if we connected and supported each other in this way? What kind of world would that be? I can't help feeling that it may be a more successful one.

To quote Kone, our tour guide earlier this week: "Compassion is the radicalism of the twenty first century."
Kind of a sad thought, but something to really think about.


Bre'Elle E.

March the 26th

Tuesday was filled with paint, good food, and good times. We began the day as we have each day which has been a nutritious breakfast and a stressful meeting. After making it through the pre-service ritual we started walking towards our site for the day: Ms. Jessie' s house. Ms. Jessie is a sweet woman who has been a friend of the organization, United Saint's,  since Katrina devastated her city. This week is the end of a two-week project on Ms. Jessie's house, which has mainly consisted of painting the entire thing peach-pink. Hamline came to put the finishing touches on it. This has been and most likely will be my favorite day of the trip for a few simple reasons. First, the direct interaction with Ms. Jessie gave myself and our whole group enough positive energy to get through the work in no time. The second reason was the surprise red bean and rice lunch that she cooked for us. Overall, our day painting gave me a strong personal connection with both Ms. Jessie and the city of New Orleans.

Wednesday.

Hey party people. Today was one of the best days so far, because we started our day out at an elementary school called KIPP, which I think is some kind of special program here in NOLA. It was definitely different than I expected, mostly because the entire school was oriented towards getting these kids into college. The grade levels were five through eight, but they referred to the students as freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Every kid I talked to was CRAZY smart, and they all wanted to tell me as much as they could about their lives, and asked a lot of questions about Minnesota. I read with a fifth grader named Sha'Breann. She read a book like a bullet train, just rattling off words, and every once in a while she would stop and realize what she had just read, and giggle. She asked me all sorts of random questions, like if I ever got my nails done, and if I had ever been on a rollercoaster. The second girl I read with, Shanay, was at a second grade reading level. She was not very confident, but she was extremely good at sounding out words. When she saw the word 'decontamination', she wanted to give up, but I asked her to sound it out, and suddenly she knew exactly what it was. After a few minutes of reading, she decided she just wanted to talk. Her family is moving to Michigan next year, so she wanted to hear all about snow and the activities that go along with it. By the end of our conversation, she had invited me to Easter dinner at her family's house; sadly we will be flying back home the day before Easter.

Our second experience of the day was at the main office of a Vietnamese organization called Mary Queen of Vietnam, which is affiliated with the Catholic Church. I feel bad, because I was so exhausted that I fell asleep on the drive over, and then was really out of it for our talk with the people there. However, it was definitely a refreshing visit. We've been hearing about and witnessing so much suffering lately that it was nice to hear a survival story, and learn about all the sustainable living projects MQVN is working on. They walked us through their greenhouse full of veggies and their fish room. They take the waste from the fish tanks, funnel it into the greenhouse, where the plants suck up the nutrients and clean out the water, and then cycle it back into the fish tanks. A REALLY cool setup.

Our last activity for the day, after a delicious dinner provided by United Saints, was an open mic hosted by a Hamline alum named Tony Wilson at his cafe, SpecialTea. We enjoyed the coffee and the company, but most of all, every poet/musician that performed was phenomenal. One of our own, Seth, got up there and did his thing, and received a resounding stamp of approval from the NOLA poets. He was passionate and fantastic, and everyone in the room was extremely impressed.

Now we're chilling in the apartment, some of us went out exploring, but the rest of us are chatting and having dance parties and showering and getting ready for another beautiful day full of building stuff. Catch ya on the flippity flop~!

Selene

Our First Day of Service

Today, Monday March 23rd, we had our first full day of volunteer work with United Saints. The day started early, as we had our morning meeting at 8:00am and went out to our site shortly after. For our first project, we worked on murals and signs for the Hoffman Triangle- an area with many abandoned houses that need to be cleaned/closed up. We worked on many small projects. I, personally, mixed cement and put it into tires to hold signs, drilled sign posts together, picked up trash in the neighborhood, and helped carry materials, among other little things. Other members of the group painted murals and posts, sawed boards, assembled murals, and more related items. By the end of the workday, I felt like we accomplished a lot, and the team leader noted that we had achieved more than they expected.

When we got back to the apartment, I was physically exhausted but feeling pretty good about the effort put forth. One of the most inspiring aspects of today's work was that the projects that we worked on/completed were noticeable, and I felt like we were actually making a difference in a short amount of time, even if on a small scale. It has made me very excited for the future work and projects that we'll be doing throughout the rest of the week. Just this one day has also made me realize that whether big or small, any help you can give is important. It has also inspired me to think about other volunteer/service work that I could do in the future and how I can "make a difference."

After resting up, we went to the mosque again and got to talk to a few of the men- including Musheer and Yusuf who we met for breakfast on Sunday- for an hour and a half. They also catered a nice meal of hot dogs and other snacks for us. During the open discussion, we talked about their personal roles in the community as well as goals for the community. It was extremely intriguing to hear about their efforts in helping out community members, including providing free meals, housing, recovery efforts, and medical care. It is amazing to see what people will do for their neighbors. It's really moving to hear about their real examples.

We also got to hear testimonials about their experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina. A lot of the information is horrifying, shocking, and just plain tragic. It seems like most of the people from New Orleans that we've talked to had either family or friends who died during the disaster. I am astonished every time we hear about this, but it is even more shocking that I am finding out many things about the devastation for the first time, almost 8 years after the event. The discussion at the mosque brought up many problems for the people of New Orleans, such as crime, corruption, violence, and poor health care and education. However, this is not the only time on this trip that we've heard such testimonials. They only reaffirm what we heard on our tour yesterday and from talking to others in the area.

Overall, this was a very long and tiring, yet fulfilling day. I keep learning more and more, and my mind and ideas toward disasters, relief, and recovery are continually expanding. I am excited to see what will come of the rest of this service trip, but I know we will all come back to Hamline at least a little different, and hopefully with new goals for the future.

On a side note, New Orleans is an absolutely beautiful city and the culture is strong and present everywhere. Exploring and wandering in our free time is just magical.\

Ashley

Today was our first full day in New Orleans! It was super cool to finally get a taste of the city, I've been picturing what it would be like for a long time and it's amazing to finally be here. Today we went on a "Tour of the Unbeaten Path" through United Saints, which was an eye-opening experience because it really centered around the corruption within New Orleans and how that played into the corruption of Hurricane Katrina. I really enjoyed the man that gave the tour, he was really good at telling his story and was so knowledgeable about the history and politics behind the Hurricane. He took us to historical sites like churches in the community and the birth places of jazz which I thought was really cool. There's so much culture and colorfulness in this city but it was so sad to see that see that there was barely anything left when we went to the lower ninth ward. What used to be the most densely populated neighborhood in New Orleans now is being taken over by nature because the rest of the families had to leave, and and because of the government corruption have little help of getting their homes back.

Rachel

NOLA Day 2

Today was a very mentally exhausting day, and it's not even 7. I've decided today's theme was New Orleans Culture. 
This morning we went to Masjid-ur-Rahim Mosque (Mosque of the Merciful) for breakfast and a dialogue. We talked with two men about New Orleans culture and some basic tenants of Islam. We talked specifically about jazz, creole culture, food, and Mardi Gras. New Orleans has such a unique culture that is unlike any other place. The sense of community here is so very different from Minnesota (although not too different from that of my hometown in AR). Everyone talks and waves to you when you walk or drive down the street and get on the trolley. This sense of community is an important aspect of culture and an important force that has allowed New Orleans to make the progress it has. 
After some down time, we took the Off the Beaten Path tour from United Saints. After talking for about an hour about New Orleans culture, history, and what happened after Katrina, we headed out. Our tour guide, Koné, is a native New Orlean who returned from California after Katrina to help his family and friends. He's been here since working with United Saints and has led over 600 of these tours. The tour took us through the Central City, Midtown, Tremé, and Lower Ninth Ward neighborhoods. These were the areas most affected by Katrina, and, not coincidentally, the more diverse and poorer neighborhoods. In Midtown, we saw Charity Hospital (big white building picture), one of the public hospitals in New Orleans that has been closed down since Katrina, despite it being relatively unaffected, in favor of the monstrous public/private hospital complex that's currently under construction. We also saw several closed down historic important churches that couldn't return after Katrina because they didn't have the money to make the repairs necessary.  The biggest jail in Louisiana, also in Midtown, was built to hold around 7,000, but generally has upwards of 9-10,000  in the facility. 
Definitely both the hardest and the most rewarding part of the tour was seeing the Lower Ninth Ward. Previously the most densely populated neighborhood in New Orleans with buildings barely shoulder-width apart, the Lower Ninth Ward is still mostly empty. There are a few houses that have been restored, but a majority of them that are even still there are sunken and boarded up. The rest is empty lot after empty lot. Out of the original nine, there is one public school left serving K-12 with an incredibly long waiting list. This school is only open because community organizers got together, against the will of the state and at the threat of arrest, to clean and restore it.
However, among all the still boarded-up houses and empty lots, there were two beacons of hope for the neighbor hood. The Make it Right Campaign (Brad Pitt's effort) has been working to build 300 sustainable, hurricane-proof houses for the residents of the Lower Ninth Ward. We saw a lot of these 85 houses that have been finished and returned residents are living in. The other was Our School at Blair Grocery, a school that takes high school drop outs, gang members, and other underprivileged kids and teaches them skills for sustainable farming. We walked through their garden, which supplies organic produce to many up-scale New Orleans restaurants. 
While our Off the Beaten Path tour was difficult, I think we each realized the real trauma that New Orleans is still facing. It's easy to say "the work isn't done yet", but to see all that still needs to happen to even come close to restoring New Orleans, was very difficult. However hard it was seeing all that that needs to finished and started, it was incredibly encouraging to see what has been done and what is continuing to be done and to talk with people who love this city and are dedicated to the New Orleans community. 

-Karina

We made it.
However tough it may have been for a group of college students to wake up and get to Hamline University at eight o'clock in the morning on the first day of spring break; but we made it and through sleepy eyes most of us looked excited or at the very least conscious.
We braved the long lines of of the Minneapolis airport, and survived landing in a snow storm in Denver, CO; and after a one hour layover that turned into a two hour layover, because of the snow,  we we're finally on a plane destined to New Orleans.
Coming into New Orleans, in the plane as we dipped back below the clouds and being able to see the ground, it seemed alien seeing green grass below. It seems obscure that only twelve hours ago we were pulling away from Hamline with three feet of snow on the ground and temperatures in the single digits and now to be sitting in humid bunk room in seventy degree weather. It's "spring break" and it is finally starting to feel like spring.
The big news of the day is that we are here and we are settled and all eleven of us made us alive.

Welcome to the Catalyst trip blogs!

Hello and welcome to the blog for the Catalyst trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. This trip focuses on relief for Hurricane Katrina, looking at the issue through an interfaith lens. The group will begin posting when they leave for their trip and will try to post once a day (trust us, they'll be plenty busy.) There will be lots to talk about in these updates, so please, enjoy the blog, and thank you for your support!