Leslie's POST number 2!!!

May 27th 2006

Today was a day like none other... out of all the time spent in New Orleans I've never had a time where I wanted to cry at the actual work-site. We gutted an elementary school today...



We filled three dumpsters in a matter of two hours. When I walked in I saw all of the miniature desks, chairs, and cubbies. What struck me the most however was the chalkboard. "Welcome back to school! August 26th 2005!" All of the classrooms had the date on the blackboard, "August 26th 2005." There were tardy slips on the teacher's desks... "August 22nd 2006- Tardy, Overslept." It was literally frozen in time. It was an emotionally charged experience. With our Tyvek suits on and gas masks it was difficult to give nonverbal communication cues with the other 30 or so people at our site. But I could see it in their eyes. We all could feel the innocence of childhood that was stripped away by the flood waters ever present in the abandoned building. One of the girls from Pennsylvania said it so simply, "We shouldn't have to be doing this... they're just children, where did they all go?"



The second floor didn't get flooded but I went upstairs anyway- simply because of morbid curiosity. It was perfectly intact, chairs still stacked neatly on the desks from the day before the storm. However, one thing sent chills through my bones- the broken glass. What could this all be from? Perhaps the windows broke during the storm because of the wind? But then why would it be in the middle of the building where there was no windows? But then I figured it out... they must have had to punch open the window of each classroom door while searching for dead bodies. The doors were locked so the windows were the only way to get in.



Computers, tardy slips, books and more books, desks, chairs, construction paper, assignments, pencils and crayons... all thrown haphazardly in three large dumpsters facing the building. One time I saw folders with each child's name neatly etched on them in marker... I opened one up and it had all of the assignments from the previous year. Coloring shapes, math problems, and writing practice... all neatly compiled into a folder for each student. Their entire school year heaped onto the tiles, with a topping of mold to insult their academic pursuits even more. Too much work and effort went into those folders... I just couldn't do it. I simply walked away and resumed gutting less personal objects such as piles of moldy paper and rows of chairs. From time to time pockets of flood water would gush out from behind the pieces of furniture. The water was the icing on the cake for conceptualization... when the water gushed out I thought "wow-- this really was in here." I tend to forget about the water until pockets come out like that. I am too busy fighting off the heat, focusing on the project, thinking of all the displaced children, and trying not to touch the mold. When the water comes out of the walls it adds a whole new element to the already emotionally disturbing experience.



This is the first time in awhile I have felt so confused. Usually I understand what I am so upset about, but this is something beyond my comprehension. These aren't isolated incidents, they are the hallmark of the Gulf Coast here in May of 2006. The chalk boards all displayed "August 26th 2005." I still cannot get that date out of my head. If you've ever wondered what it is like to go back in time I suggest you travel to the Gulf Coast. Get here when you can... but apparently there's no need to rush because it is only nine months later and Hands On is gutting their first school. There are simply just not enough volunteers down here to speed things up. There's some volunteers which New Orleans greatly appreciates and welcomes with open arms- but there's just not enough. This is America & right now I feel like I'm living in a third world country.

~Leslie~