Katrina Still?

Keith and I just returned from an eCommerce Summit in New Orleans where much of the devastation of Katrina is still evident even after 2 ½ years. There are people camped in tents underneath the overpass to get onto the interstate, and many people are still VERY displaced from the storm. One thing I noticed was that many of the businesses in the business district, such as stores and delis, small businesses, are boarded up and gone. It was difficult to find a smaller sit-down restaurant in the area just 2 blocks from the convention center. We were told this area did not actually flood. The only reason I can figure that these business should be out of business is that the owners fled, perished, or are otherwise displaced or economically deficient to such a state that they cannot recover their loss. This creates a very high demand for jobs for the people who ARE recovering and much competition for the jobs that are there.

On another note, in much of the 9th Ward and areas where the devastation was so great, new buildings are beginning to go up. The houses there are built in a style called ‘Shotgun Houses’ which looks much like the modern day mobile home backed into a narrow lot with the door in the end. Actually, they have mobile homes created in this style there. The places where new apartments are already built, the majority of people I saw there were young (20-30) mothers. They would be seen down scrubbing and cleaning their porches or picking up the miniscule lawn or otherwise tidying up their place. It was encouraging to see an area that had proven to be used to ‘handouts’ historically, so proud of what they had. That is the image I took away from there the most. Pride and gratefulness. The sense of disdain for government on all levels is evident though. I can only imagine. They feel they were failed by the government on all levels. I personally feel this perception is valid, but only after seeing what they had dealt with. The houses are still marked with the paint on the outside testifying as to how many residents were there, how many were dead and how many were transferred as well as any animals left behind. More paint would be on the wall indicating a dog was fed on this date by a neighbor, or ‘one friendly yellow cat’, or white dog under house with the date. Some neighborhoods are not even there….just….GONE! As in, not there! A baseball field and city park swimming pool are empty. A hospital abandoned.

These people STILL very much need prayer and help with construction. I did not see that many that I perceived as unwilling to try but greatly needing a leg up. What can we do to help? I wish somehow I could raise enough money to buy just one of the mobile homes I mentioned or build just one shotgun house. Every family that is helped will make a difference to that economy. If someone could open up just one market, there would be a few more jobs, more food for people who were within the area who had no transportation….yes, many of the people still have not replaced their cars which were washed away and are older and unable to ride bicycles. It’s crazy for one part of the nation to be so blessed that we are busy worrying about computer viruses and such and another part to be worrying about not suffocating from the heat in a tent under the interstate.