Shafts of Light

Today's work was possibly the most fulfilling I have ever done, leaving me with high hopes for the rest of the trip. My group worked at a house in uptown New Orleans that was nearly completely gutted. The man who owned it had lived there for since the 1940's. During the hurricane his neighborhood did not flood but suffered from severe wind damage that led to a roofless house and severe rain damage. He evacuated to Los Angeles where his sister lives and only recently returned. Since coming home he had single-handedly gutted all of his house except the kitchen area. Our job was to pull of the plaster and wood paneling that made up the walls and ceiling, to peel off the linoleum, and to remove all of the debris. It was an easy enough task but somewhat slow and repetitive.

When all was done you could look through his house from front door to back. His family was living in the house while it was being repaired. I could never imagine spending all my time in that condition. The walls let in shafts of light between the boarding but the house was still dim because of the lack of lighting, the winds caused drafts, the roof leaked during a thunderstorm during our day, and the inside of the house framework was covered in an inch of dust. It made me so thankful for where we are staying and all we have.

Samantha Haycock