New Orleans - 3 Years Later

Ok, so this isn't homework - technically - but I was honored to be part of a small group of dedicated folks who traveled down to New Orleans post Hurricane Gustav. I was further honored to be asked to recount my experience in the Official Google.org Blog. The post you see below is my "orginal" submission. The official entry will be shorter and more journalistic in style, but I wanted to find a place to preserve the initial integrity of the piece. Enjoy!

On August 29, 2005 the lives of thousands of residents of the Gulf Coast region of the United states were changed forever. At the same time, millions of Americans watched in horror as the wind, rain and flood waters wiped away the homes, business, history and lives of thousands of its own citizens. On August 30, 2005 a record number of volunteers flooded Disaster Response and Governmental agencies, churches and local outreach organizations with calls to find out how they could help. I was one of those volunteers and what I experienced changed my life forever.

Three years later, much of the region still stands abandoned. Repair of city infrastructure, community rebuilding, and tourism (the primary economic source for this part of the nation) is slow if not stagnant in much of the region. But there is hope. As part of the Black Googlers Network (BGN), on September 5, 2008, 32 colleagues and I were set to deploy to the region for what was initially slated as a Katrina Rebuilding Outreach Trip, whose focus quickly changed to a Gustav Recovery Mission. As New Orleans slowly came back to life, we stood side by side with the proud and resilient residents of this amazing city to help them repair the lives they worked so hard to (re)build, sending a clear message that they are not forgotten.

As our group planned to deploy so quickly after Hurricane Gustav, most agencies were still shut down as all of their employees were evacuated to other parts of the country. One of the notable exceptions to this was an organization I had worked with during my previous visit, St. Bernard Project. St. Bernard Project is a nonprofit, community-based organization that began rebuilding homes in August 2006 (boasting an amazing 177 projects to date) that were damaged by floodwaters from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana - a working class community and one of the hardest hit parishes of the city as it is located a mere 5 miles from the now infamous Industrial Levee. I contacted the projects co-founders, Zach Rosenburg and Liz McCartney, two former Capital Hill attorneys, who were delighted to hear of our dedication to help in any way we could and used this as a springboard to get their team back into action. They communicated the importance of our visit, not only from a hands-on perspective (32 able bodies equaled significant progress in three separate homes), but the message it would send to the community and the world.

This experience affected my colleagues and I in a way that no article, news story or documentary could. Many of them remarked at how, three years later, much of the area still lies in the same state it did the day after the flood waters receded. But the overwhelming highlight of the trip was that at each build site, the families whose homes we were lovingly returning to their former grace, stopped by to say hello, offer their humble gratitude and recount the stories of survival that we have all become too accustomed to. Andrea was the owner of the home I was rebuilding. She was the mother of two small children and was anxious to return a sense of normalcy to all of their lives. She shared pictures of her life before the storm and photos of the devastation immediately after. She told us of the time her adventurous son wandered into the deep grass behind her home only to come face to face with one of the indigenous deadly snakes in the region. Fearless as young boys are, he curiously inspected the snake, only to be whisked up by his attentive mother just as the serpent was preparing to strike. The issue was, this snake's venom could kill a full grown man in 20 minutes. The closest emergency room, as a result the devastation, is over 45 minutes away. Meeting Andrea put a face on the tragedy for us. She reminded us that even with all of the progress made to get people back into their homes, communities are fractured with basic services and business opportunities still notably absent.

The Idea Village is an organization hoping to change this. By spear-heading innovative change and accelerated growth in the affected region, they hope to return a sense of community to the embattled New Orleans region. During our visit, BGN was fortunate enough to be able to assist with the development and launch of their 504ward $100,000 business plan competition (launching September 25, 2008) by employing our business savvy, creative thought processes and Google product knowledge. This competition hopes to capitalize on the 5,000+ young people who have flocked to New Orleans since Katrina and leverage their natural talent and resources to rebuild this struggling community by soliciting ideas on how to develop a strong foundation of entrepreneurial ventures and resources. A small group of Googler's also met with the New Orleans Downtown Development District who work with organizations such as The Idea Village. Their discussion centered around the city's plans to better market New Orleans as a potential center for medical research, arts, culture, and tourism, as well as to attract new businesses and economic talent. The Idea Village's motto is "Trust Your Crazy Ideas", but I don't see anything crazy about wanting to rebuild one of America's greatest and most historic cities.

On the final day of our trip, I took a few of my colleagues to the most effected area of New Orleans - the Upper and Lower Ninth Ward. This was the area most devastated by the hurricanes as it sits on low-lying land precariously close to the the Mississippi river. This area is notably absent of life in most of its neighborhoods, as there is little or nothing for them to come back to. But as you drive through you see a few signs of hope: children riding bikes, families and neighbors barbecuing on the front lawns of their homes (many still tattooed with the post storm FEMA markings) and a few bold projects such as the The Musician's Village and Brad Pitt's Make it Right project. These things remind me not to view New Orleans with sadness or pity, but with respect, dignity and a pledge to offer a hand in their greatest time of need. In our case, 64 hands.

"We must build a new world, a far better world - one in which the eternal dignity of man is respected." - Harry S. Truman