I wanted to share some final thoughts that illustrate the enormity of the work remaining. On Thursday, Gail from the the St. Bernard Parish Public Schools stopped by our worksite. We presented her with a check and she shared how the school system is coping with life post-Katrina.
She shared that the school system had about 16,000 students and 20 buildings (15 of which were schools) before the storm. At this point, 15 months after the storm, they have only 2 working buildings and only about 3,500 students!! Five buildings will be completely torn down. Of the students (and their families) that remain in the school system, she estimated that less than 5 percent are actually living in their homes - the rest are living in FEMA trailers on their property or somewhere else.
It's difficult to illustrate this in words, but imagine if EVERY house in Anderson Township (or whatever community you live in) was destroyed. Imagine that as you drive down ANY street in Anderson Township, only 1 house is occupiable, and FEMA trailers sit on every fourth house. That is the situation in Chalmette and St. Bernard Parish School District. There is much more work to do and the experts are estimating 5-10 years.
On a positive note, our church (both LCR and the ELCA) are doing great work down there. So many people told us that the Lutherans (and Lutheran Disaster Response, specifically) were playing a huge part in the recovery and are absolutely vital. It feels so good to be a part of this great ministry.
Peace,
Jason
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