It has been 5 yrs since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf and left a nationwide devastation. Seven months ago Port Au Prince, Haiti suffered a 7.0 magnitude earthquake and spawned a massive out pour of suplies and money from neighboring countries. Throughout the next 3 months I will travel to New Orleans and Haiti to particiapte in several clean-up and rebuilding missions. These trips will be documented and the similarities between the two catastrophies will be highlighted and what can be done to move forward.
The residents of New Orleans were called refugees. How would you feel if everything you had was destroyed and the news portrayed you as a savage helplessly looking for salvation? On the actual day that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans there were thousands of residents still in the city. Why? Because this isn't the first time they were threatened with the reality of losing everything they had and having to rebuild. However this time proved to be something different. Not only did the Katrina cause devastation but the breaking of levees is what really killed the lower 9th ward and other districts in the city. Many people say that the levees were blown up or that it was due to faulty contruction, but does that mean that an entire city is left to die because of carelessness?
"George Bush doesn't care about black people" - K.West
Four years ago, I traveled with a group of students from the Atlanta University Center to New Orleans to participate in a Hurricane Relief Trip. The people we spoke with and the sights we saw will never be able to be placed in words. I must say this that trip is what inspired me to continue on with the mission of helping others and trying to elevate the minds of people of color. Katrina took place August 2005 and we were there in October 2006...to say that it looked like it happened yesterday is an understatement. There were houses with dead bodies still inside that haven't been accounted for. Several blocks were empthy which dozens of house once stood. How can this happen in America where we run to help other countries but not the ones on our own soil...
Take a look at these pics from the trip
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