UMCOR Bright Spots

IN TODAY'S ISSUE
December 21, 2006

D'Iberville Woman Faces Rebuilding With Determination and Help From Volunteers

"It Feels Like the Heart of the City Is Gone"

This Week's Quote

Recovery Stats

UMCOR Sager Brown Hosts Record Number of Volunteers (Slide Show)

D'IBERVILLE WOMAN FACES REBUILDING WITH DETERMINATION AND HELP FROM VOLUNTEERS

By Susan J. Meister, Gulf Coast Communications

When Miss Mary began to describe the ordeal of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina fourteen months after it happened, it sounded as though she was describing events from the day before. She related how she and her son and their dogs scrambled to the roof of her house in D'Iberville, Miss., while nine feet of water inundated her home, how they cleaned the house out with snow shovels, and how she put a nail on her front porch. The "nail box" served as a place to send messages to people in the neighborhood who lacked even the most basic services for months after the storm.

Miss Mary holds one of her precious old photographs damaged by the salt water of Hurricane Katrina. Photo: Susan Meister/UMCOR

Miss Mary holds one of her precious old photographs damaged by the salt water of Hurricane Katrina.
Susan Meister/UMCOR

D'Iberville is on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, just north of Biloxi.

Despite the devastation to her home, Miss Mary approaches her rebuilding effort with a grim determination.

"The house was so far gone, I didn't know where to start," she said. "It's hard, but we are the fortunate ones."

God puts it in everyone to do what must be done, Miss Mary continued. "It's just hidden-you don't know until it happens."

"Angels were sent to help me"

Julie Willems, case manager with the Central Region of the Mississippi Disaster Recovery, headquartered at Camp Seashore, Biloxi, scheduled volunteer teams to come and help Miss Mary with her recovery.

"All kinds of people came to help me," exclaimed Miss Mary. "Lou, from Montana, helped me put my windows in. A lady in a wheel chair even helped paint!

"Angels were sent to help me. Everybody added something."

Miss Mary's back yard is covered with tables filled with knickknacks she is trying to salvage. Her FEMA trailer is in the background. Photo: Susan Meister/UMCOR

Miss Mary's back yard is covered with tables filled with knickknacks she is trying to salvage. Her FEMA trailer is in the background.
Susan Meister/UMCOR

"Your family is lucky to have you"

Miss Mary spoke fondly of her family and her responsibility to help them get back on their feet. Three FEMA trailers, for her and her children, are lined up along the edge of her property next to her home.

Willems remarked on Mary's devotion. "Your family is lucky to have you," she said.

Miss Mary's yard is filled with tables covered with knick knacks and plastic tubs filled with keepsakes that she is working to clean and salvage to be placed in her home again after the rebuilding is complete.

"It's been a hard year," she said. "But we've been fortunate to be able to work on the house. Life goes on.

"Everybody is going through the same thing-there are so many stories. It will take a long time to get it together."

Volunteers are needed to help with rebuilding in D'Iberville Mississippi and throughout the Mississippi Conference affected by the winds and water of Hurricane Katrina. To schedule a team, contact Mississippi United Methodist Katrina Response.

TELL-A-FRIEND

Please pass this email on to your friends who aren't yet acquainted with UMCOR so they can learn about our long-term recovery work in partnership with the annual conferences of Mississippi and Louisiana.

For more on the United Methodist recovery work visit these web sites:
UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief)
UM News Service
Mississippi Conference
Louisiana Conference
Texas Conference
Alabama-West Florida Conference

BE SURE TO RECEIVE OUR BRIGHT SPOTS EMAILS. MAKE UMCOR YOUR BUDDY! Some Internet Service Providers like AOL, Yahoo!, Hotmail, and Juno use email filtering software that allows you to add email addresses to a "buddy," "trusted," "safe," or approved list. Please add umcor@gbgm-umc.org to your list so that our messages don't end up in "junk mail" or the "trash."

For More Information

Our Work

Miss Joanne stands in front of her home in Metarie (greater New Orleans), being rebuilt by volunteer teams from the Eastbank Station.
Susan Meister/UMCOR

"IT FEELS LIKE THE HEART OF THE CITY IS GONE"

Miss Joanne almost didn't leave her home in Metarie (New Orleans) when Katrina roared through.

"But I watched the news," she said, "and decided to leave." The winds from the storm blew the roof off the home, all the ceilings came down, and there was extensive water damage inside.

After six months in an apartment in Houston, Miss Joanne returned to live in a FEMA trailer just down the block from her home with her home. But with two young daughters and newly pregnant, she was just too tired to do the work on her home.

"I was stressed, feeling bad," she said. "I was so scared. But I prayed and God sent help from heaven."

Darrell Guillory, Station Director of the Eastbank Station of Louisiana Disaster Recovery Ministry, and his staff stepped in with volunteer and material assistance.

"People were so nice," Miss Joanne cried. "The volunteers bring joy."

Guillory has been especially impressed with the young persons who have come to volunteer. Miss Joanne also appreciates the case management staff, especially her case manager, Rothelle Lewis.

"I like the way he worked with me," she said. "Even though I got discouraged, he led me through step-by-step and talked me through the process. He was almost obsessed with helping me."

Guillory and Miss Joanne said that eight out of ten homes in her neighborhood were damaged. "It feels so empty," she said. "It feels like the heart of the city is gone.

"People are depressed," Miss Joanne continued, "because it is taking so long (to rebuild). Please tell other people we are not fine."

To help rebuild in Metarie and other areas in Louisiana impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, contact Louisiana Disaster Recovery Ministry.

Statistics: UMCOR Sager Brown, in Baldwin, LA, welcomed over 3,100 volunteers in 2006-the highest number in its history-to work on material resources for those affected by disasters, both domestic and international. For the first time, UMCOR Sager Brown delivered supplies to eleven sites in Louisiana and Mississippi to aid people affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Power Point Slide Show DOWNLOAD
UMCOR SAGER BROWN HOSTS RECORD NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS
Download this slide and use in your Sunday morning announcements or mission minute