“I just couldn’t imagine what Hilton would do if something like this happened to us,” Lois DeWitt said, sharing her visions of total destruction - entire neighborhoods leveled to the ground. “Would we gather together?” DeWitt, a retiree who lives in the village of Hilton, just returned from her second trip to the hurricane damaged area since January. She has traveled with two different volunteer groups to help bring comfort to the people of Louisiana, a state that has been demolished by Hurricane Katrina, the costliest and one of the most devastating hurricanes in U.S. history. DeWitt said even the extensive media coverage doesn’t accurately portray the situation. “I wish I could relate the feeling of devastation you get when you are standing there and there is just nothing,” DeWitt said. “The urgency isn’t over for people down there.” Biloxi was DeWitt’s first destination with a group organized by Urban Life Ministry’s Humanity Outreach Partners Enterprises (HOPE). She read about the opportunity in a Hilton United Methodist church newsletter and the congregation ended up sponsoring her trip from January 4 through 10. Her team of college students, college faculty and retirees focused on demolition needed mainly due to extensive water damage. They pulled up flooring, pulled out wiring, removed appliances and paneling and cut out wallboard up to five feet high. Most of the group’s effort focused on four homes. Around them, DeWitt saw many groups working to handle the debris. She watched entire blocks being bulldozed. Eerily, there were no traces of wildlife anywhere. While the situation was overwhelming, DeWitt was impressed with the responses of the families. While working on their homes she was able to hear their individual stories, each one incredible and profoundly sad. “They had recovered from the first shock,” DeWitt said. “They just appreciated whatever we could do and they didn’t complain.” As she returned from her first trip, DeWitt realized she was leaving behind a colossal amount of unfinished work. So when DeWitt’s sister (who lives in South Carolina) invited her to join in on a group trip planned for early February, she couldn’t pass up the offer. This time DeWitt headed to the small fishing town of Pearlington. She went with a group made up mainly of retirees organized through the Hurricane Relief Coalition New Hope Construction. It was obvious when she arrived that this small, poor town hadn’t made many steps toward recovery. Her group’s mission was to build temporary housing. In five days time they were able to put up two small homes, each about 300 square feet. While three weeks has passed since her first trip to Louisiana, DeWitt was disheartened to find few signs of progress just an hour and a half away from where she had been working before. She saw ATM’s with no banks, gas pumps with no stations, and the town’s post office was gone. The only glimmer of hope was that a few birds had returned. “The devastation was the same and the people’s stories were still heart wrenching,” DeWitt said. This time, DeWitt worked with her sister to put up paneling. They focused on this task for the duration of their visit - five days. DeWitt said it is difficult to comprehend how long it will take to rebuild Louisiana. She believes it will be years, and she is excited to return to continue helping. For DeWitt these two trips have shown her the great need for everyone to work together and the experience has also reassured her that she can make a contribution. “If everybody works together to help, things will get done,” DeWitt said. She has volunteered to lead a local group to Louisiana in November. “You don’t have to sit on the sidelines and say ‘Gosh, if only I could,’ because you can,” DeWitt said. One way to start is by calling Gael Orr from HOPE at 585-612-6633, or by going online to www.hopeunites.org to express an interest in volunteering to rebuild Louisiana. February 26, 2006 |
