Happy Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I am definately exhausted from today's events. From the rally in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in the Ninth Ward, to the march through downtown, and to the housing take-over on St. Bernard... today, has definately been a long day.

The morning started at 8 a.m. as we boarded two buses headed out to the Ninth Ward. We continued onto a bridge where we saw exactly where the levees broke. We passed by houses that were halfway gone or completely diminished, windows broken or boarded up, heaps of rubble at almost every corner, and a feeling of emptiness as we drove passed deserted streets. Was it always this quiet before Katrina? One of the taxi-drivers said that it has been more quiet since the hurricane hit. Another Xavier student I've spoken to said that New Orleans has definately changed since the day she evacuated her dorm room to drive home to Alabama. New Orleans pre-Katrina- I may not know, but the New Orleans I saw today, almost reminded me of neighborhoods I'm used to seeing in the Philippines.




As for the rally in front of MLK, I think it was a sucessful one. About 130 of us all wore the red "Louisiana Winter" shirts, as we listened to Joseph Recasner, the Dean of Students at the MLK Elementary School, and many students speak of this week's events. Joseph and Jeff offered their art of words by presenting their poetry at the rally. I always admire people who speak in front of crowds, but to also share one's art in front of everyone also brings in another dimension of courage.

Courage is definately something I have seen from a lot of people while on this trip. Whether it being the courage I see in the students that have come on this trip to talk to residents or whether it being the courage I see and feel from the residents of New Orleans, it is all courage I feed off from. I feel it, therefore I try to reflect it as best as I can. I think the most high-lighting event for today, was the opportunity to actually witness a resident cleaning out her own abandoned apartment. Her name is Monite Riley who has been displaced to Houston, Texas because of Hurricane Katrina.



Monite Riley sweeps the porch of the apartment she and her family have lived in for three years prior to Hurricane Katrina.






Riley's son, Nathaniel, 4, draws on the front porch of their apartment.









Students from Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA, carry out a mattress and help Riley clean out her family's apartment.









Volunteers decided to help residents "take back" their homes during this demonstration on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.









From right, volunteers Mary Liz Van nes, a Occidental student from California, and Sister Lilianne Flavin from Hope House, help the St. Bernard residents clean out their homes.






Willie Hunter, 10, looks out of the porch before starting to clean up again.



To meet and to talk to these residents was definately an experience I want to share. Not everyone had the chance to hear her story, and it's definately something that I rather have on the web then have it in my personal journal. I want people to see it, read it, and share it.

I believe in the power of storytelling--it's a passion that drives me. I believe in sharing experiences--it's a way to learn from eachother. And I believe in listening to my inner voice- my intuition- even if external forces may say otherwise.