Satisfying Work in New Orleans for Habitat Members
It’s hard to understand just how destructive Hurricane Katrina was until you see the still visible damage in New Orleans. Huntington High School Habitat for Humanity club members have made several trips there to help in rebuilding efforts, including a recent journey during the school’s spring vacation.
A group of 18 students and three adults, including faculty advisor Robert Gilmor, teachers Craig McKee and Lorena Diaz and parent Kimberly DeFranco, made the trek. The seven day excursion featured long days of hard work and a variety of group activities.
Junior Dylan Tuozzo was among the travelers. “I first got involved with Habitat last year,” the teenager said. “Unfortunately, I was not 16 years old prior to the New Orleans trip, so as a junior I was really looking forward to this year when I would be eligible to participate.”
Ms. Tuozzo said the first day of the trip included a tour of Tulane University, which she called “a beautiful school.” A three-hour bus tour around the city highlighted Hurricane Katrina’s brutal impact on the area.
“We saw the new levy and pump systems as well as the water marks on the houses showing just how high the water had come,” Ms. Tuozzo said. “What affected me the most was seeing the spray painted marks on each house indicating how many people and animals died or were found alive there, the date they were found and the rescue team that found them.”
On the Huntington group’s first full day of work, the volunteers painted a house for a single mother and her two daughters. “They were so appreciative of us being there to help,” Ms. Tuzzo said. When the Huntington teenagers went out at night they wore their Habitat shirts and were frequently thanked for their efforts by New Orleans residents. “It was rewarding to know just how much we were appreciated.”
Mr. Gilmor founded Huntington’s Habitat chapter shortly after starting work at the high school as dean of students. The club has developed a devoted following and has completed some impressive projects over the years.
In New Orleans, that initial painting project was followed by much more work. “During the course of the next three days, we worked in the Ninth Ward constructing a house with another Habitat group from Minnesota,” Ms. Tuzzo said. “There was an architect and several AmeriCorps volunteers who instructed us and assigned us jobs. We started with nothing but concrete cinder blocks and by the end of the week we completed the floors and walls. By far the hardest part of the build was carrying the walls about six blocks as they had been delivered to a different address. It was hard work, but it was a very fulfilling experience that I would recommend to everyone. In spite of the hard work, we really had a lot of fun. I would, however, recommend bringing lots of sunscreen.”
Another Huntington junior making the trip for the first time was Shayne Larkin, who like most members of the group had no prior carpentry experience “which made it difficult to wrap my mind around the idea that I would be building part of a house that someone would eventually live in, hopefully for a long time,” she said. “So with that in mind, I felt a little anxious. But there were so many volunteers on the site with us that the labor was plentiful and not too strenuous. I banged a lot of nails.”
Ms. Larkin said she didn’t feel as if the group was making much progress until the floor boards were installed. “Once I could actually stand on something, it was much easier to grasp that the foundation would be a house. We all felt really accomplished walking around on that floor.”
Phone calls to Huntington helped keep family members current on the group’s activities, although there were some misunderstandings and misconceptions.
“Back home, some of my folks were confused when they heard we didn’t build an entire house, which is a nearly impossible task to complete over the course of three days, and some were even disappointed,” Ms. Larkin said. “I think many of us feel like a person hasn’t accomplished something worthwhile unless it’s really monumental. Laying down a floor and raising three walls, isn’t exactly awe-inspiring. But we need to learn to start small and know that what we contribute will eventually be something enormous and monumental, rather than ditch the job because the results aren’t immediate.”
The students dined together, participated in some fun social activities and saw some interesting sites around the city. They also learned a variety of lessons.
“Change and progression is as tangible as we want it to be and working with Habitat has helped me realize that,” Ms. Larkin said. “It was a very rewarding experience and I’m antsy to go back.”
All graphics, photographs, and text appearing on the Huntington Public Schools home page and subsequent official web pages are protected by copyright. Redistribution or commercial use is prohibited without express written permission. Comments or Questions? email the Public Information Office