New Orleans Day 2

I sit at a small table at the St. Charles Guest House on the edge of the Garden District as the sun rises on my third day in New Orleans.

Today we will work again in the Lower Ninth Ward, the most affected area of a city devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Here's a video of the Lower Ninth.

Yesterday morning after eating breakfast, the group of us staying at the St. Charles Guest House, were picked up by the Japanese Consulate driver, and brought to the house of Emily, the coordinator of this trip.





There we met the volunteer coordinator for Lean on Me, the non-profit we are working with. Her name was the same of the storm, Katrina. Prior to the Hurricane, she ran a non-profit that aided the homeless in California. When Katrina struck, her husband said that since dealing with the homeless was what they knew how to do, it was time for them to expand their operations. Now Katrina jets back and forth between Sacramento and New Orleans to oversee operations.

With her we traveled to the Ninth. During the trip, Emily remembered that we needed ice and called from the other car to request that we stop. Katrina said to tell her that we would definitely stop, but to follow her cause she knew a place we could stop later.

She explained that because different areas of the city had been affected to greater or lesser extents, it was vital to spend money in areas of the greatest need.

(to be continued)