Live to love in a world of constant change

Monday, April 7, 2008

The XL group got here yesterday from New York / CT / Bermuda

It became evident to us from the ride back from the airport to Camp Hope, the aftermaths of Katrina were still evident 3 years after.

The city is down to 40% of its original population. There are so many homes still boarded up and waiting to be rebuilt. The differences between down town with the fancy hotels (Canal street) and the poor devastated areas where the levy broke was like night and day.

The spirit of caring and service is every where here at Camp Hope.

There are many long term volunteers from all age groups and parts of the country all wanting to make a difference and rebuild New Orleans. Our camp director is a volunteer for last 5 months.

What is touching to me is the 18 - 24 year olds who make up AmeriCorps dedicating 10 months of their life to this and other humanitarian causes. We spoke to one such AmeriCorp volunteer Celia from Georgia who had just graduated from college and was taking a breather by giving 10 months of her life to Habitat for Humanity before moving on with her life

What was also touching were the 800 college students who were here last week. They dedicated their spring break to this humanitarian cause rather than party and drink and do the traditional spring break most college students do.

We spoke to a long term resident who incidentally was our shuttle bus driver, he lost his home to Katrina and had to relocate to another part of town

This is truly an experience that will change our lives for ever. We look forward to making a difference here with our hands and spirit.

More later

Deepak
A quote I found on the message board by a college student
"Live to love in a world of constant change"