Greetings from New Orleans! The culture and people in New Orleans have really captivated me and I'm not ready to head back to Seattle. Our hard-working group of Seattle Works volunteers got their hands dirty, and just about every other item of clothing, painting classrooms at John Divert School.
Although the school got about 10 feet of water damage from Katrina, the even bigger challenge they face now is accommodating new students. About half of the New Orleans population has not returned to the city, but more are coming back for this school year. John Divert went from an elementary school to a K-8 school so that they wouldn't have to turn as many students away. Right now they are enrolling 300 students a day and the principal says the 2007-2008 school year looks like it's going to be even more difficult than last year. This is just one of the many stories of how New Orleans is still struggling to reconstruct the city from the damage of Katrina.
While packing up my belongings I wonder how I can share my experience with others and help them understand how Katrina is still affecting lives. I think the stories and pictures we have speak for themselves... but there are no words to describe what it feels like to witness it all first-hand. I wish everyone could.
-- Tara (Byrne)
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