woodstock, vermont’s north universalist chapel society’s hurricane relief trip 2005 to new...
TRANSCRIPT
Woodstock, Vermont’sNorth Universalist Chapel Society’s
Hurricane Relief Trip 2005to New Iberia, Louisiana, to work withSouthern Mutual Help Association’s
Rural Recovery Task Force
Orientationat Victor’sw/ Judy Herring
& Juanita Alvarez-Mainster
Judy was ourprimary contact
with SMHA &became a goodfriend to us all.
Lorna Bourg & Sister Helen Vinton are the inspiration behind
Southern Mutual Help Association.
Our first day in the field. . . .doing assessments on Lamas Street
in Erath, Louisiana
Seeing the
Hurricane’sForce
in Esther &Intercoastal City
The destructionwas even foundin cemeteries.
Our Main Project: Repairing the Hurricane-Damaged
Home of The RossersKaren, Brad and their seven adopted/foster children:Terra, Frankie, Lynn, Dasha, Derrick, Monika & Tylor
Cleaning the Mold& tearing out rotted walls
. . .and Rotted Floors. . .
Haulin’ & Pilin’
Our first of several piles.
But they kept taking our piles away
(each time with a bigger tractor).
Many of us learnedTo use new tools. . .
After tearing the rotted floors out,
we replaced them with new ones.
At Last!the FEMA trailers arrived –
to be followed by NUMEROUS inspectors.
We put in the floor for the new kitchen (all new construction must be 11’ above sea level --the rest of the house is at about 8’, so there will be
three steps up to the new kitchen from the rest of the house).
And later the walls and roof.
As we returned to Vermont,we reflected on
how much there is that still needs to be done. . .
We hope many other volunteers will follow us in the coming months and
years to continue the work of SMHA’s
Rural Recovery Responseto rebuild rural Louisianabetter than it was before.
If your church or college is interested in sending a team to volunteer, contact:
Judy Herring [email protected]
If you are interested in making a contribution to support this kind of work,
visit SMHA’s website at
www.SouthernMutualHelp.org