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Students Spend Spring Break on Katrina Relief

Photo credit: A&T Register Students from North Carolina A&T and Winston-Salem State went to New Orleans to help clean up and rebuild areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

By Jameya Porter
Black College Wire

Francis Niles, a sophomore at North Carolina A&T State University majoring in broadcast production, spent his spring break helping to clean up and rebuild areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

He was among 28 other Aggies who participated. Moses Ochola, a junior majoring in international studies Aggie, counted students from Morehouse College and Winston-Salem State, James Madison, Hampton, North Carolina State and Florida A&M universities.

"Pictures can never compare to seeing that with your own eyes," said Niles.

The 29 Aggies, three of whom were advisers, were accompanied by four students and a faculty member from Winston-Salem State. The Aggies and Rams remained together for the trip.

The experience began on Sunday, March 5, when the participants left for Selma, Ala. Students from other campuses were to arrive for the weeks beginning March 12 and March 19.

Marques Hazell, left, Jennifer Kennedy and Star Surgeon, who traveled to the Ninth Ward in New Orleans to help rebuilding efforts, take a break.

For Niles, the most unforgettable moment came at the start of their stay: He and the other participants were told there was no running water at the 21st Century Youth Camp site. As a result, they bathed with gallons of cold water and brushed their teeth with bottled water until Tuesday morning.

"That was crazy because there were 150 of us staying in that complex," Niles said. "But the citizens of New Orleans who stayed in the houses went through worse, so it didn't distract us."

After leaving Selma, participants headed for New Orleans, where they lodged in the sanctuary of St. Augustine's Catholic Church, one of the oldest African American Catholic churches in the country. This church did not have a shower.

Jennifer Kennedy, a senior business management major at A&T, and Jasmine Fisher, a junior public relations major, said they were not able to take their first shower until March 7. Hundreds of participants took turns showering in the sports center at Tulane University.

Katrina on the Ground, the organization that arranged for U.S. college students to dedicate their spring break vacation time to this project, had problems, so A&T participants soon found their own way of helping.

In New Orleans' Ninth Ward – the most harshly stricken area of the city – students found work at the house of a Katrina survivor. Students divided responsibilities.

Ochola said the Ninth Ward looked as if the hurricane had "just hit last week."

The goal at the house was to clean it out completely, which included removing everything "from shoes to sofas to refrigerators," in Ochola's words.

After cleaning, the participants took down the drywall. Students worked from 1 or 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The next day, they went to an area where the houses were already gutted. Students helped with such tasks as repairing roofs, cleaning yards, removing old nails and rewiring electricity.

Niles said some participants went door to door to solicit volunteers.

Students had to be mindful of their health and safety. As a precaution, Dr. Harvette C. Jenkins, director of A&T's Sebastian Health Center, was on site, according to Ochola.

Jenkins was one of A&T's advisers, along with Bridgett Herring, student services manager, and Earl M. Hilton, assistant vice chancellor.

The Aggies left New Orleans March 9 to return to Greensboro.

"Being in that environment is physically and emotionally draining. (We were) driving in parts of a city that are comparable to ghost towns," Niles said.

Ochola was surprised by the tranquillity of many of the Katrina survivors.

"I went down there thinking I would be changed emotionally – like my life would be changed, but the people who were affected were very calm and collected," he said. "Although I was moved by the whole experience, emotionally, I felt comforted because I felt it was something we could get through because of the (composure) of the people affected by it."

Ochola also noticed the difference in conditions between the Ninth Ward areas and other areas of downtown New Orleans.

"I was very shocked about how disastrous the Ninth Ward still looked and how downtown was almost untouched," he said. "There is rapid rebuilding in downtown, but not in the Ninth Ward."

Fisher said, "To sum it up in a nutshell, the Ninth Ward is a garbage can. It's not fair. It shows what the government really thinks of our people. How could you let people live like that? It's six months later, and these people still don't have lights, water or food."

Fisher and Kennedy both said they gained a lot from the experience.

"It was extremely humbling," Kennedy said. "Just knowing that you are blessed from here on out."

Describing the whole experience as "surreal," Kennedy strongly encouraged others to donate their own time to continue the effort.

"Everyone should go down there – physically go down there, instead of just giving money - because the money doesn't always go to the right place," she said.

By the end of the trip, Niles said, "I was so relieved to be at my home here at A&T. This was the first time I called A&T my home."

President Justin Ramey, Megan Brooks, vice president of external affairs, and Arnita Moody, vice president of internal affairs, represented A&T's SGA in New Orleans.

Ramey said the experience left a message, about the underlying hypocrisy in America on equality, and a calling: to do as much as we can to support the relief efforts.

"From the looks [of] it, if anything should be done for the people who need it the most, it needs to come from an outside source," he said.

Jameya Porter, a student at North Carolina A&T State University, writes for the A&T Register.

Posted March 20, 2006