The effects of Hurricane Katrina, two and a half years after the devastation are still striking a chord among people. As seen in this USA Today article, there has been a steady increase of diverse people from all over the world coming into New Orleans to help the rebuilding process.
A lot of of these people feel such a connection even after their work is done, they decide to stay. Many see post-Katrina New Orleans as a type of civil rights movement that has some great benefits to go along with it. Where else in the world can you have Mardi Gras, gumbo and feel good about helping a city that took a blow from a deadly hurricane?
Do-gooders from different places have left what they had in towns they had built a life in, for the idea of coming to the Big Easy and being a part of rebuilding history. John and Mary Mueller, both 58, felt this calling and gave up their comfortable life in Florida to move into a trailer in St. Bernard parish and help.
In the first year after Katrina, around 550,000 people came to help with the recovery efforts. This second year shows that people have not forgotten. Over 600,000 volunteers have come this second year showing the spirit of giving back is alive and strong.
New Orleans, the culture along with its residents is a difficult place to leave once you connect and integrate within it. There is no place in the world like New Orleans. Once these volunteers come into the city and decide to stay, that means they are smart enough to see the truth and believe in our continuing progress. The New Orleans we live in today represents the great optimism that has kept this country moving.
[Guest written by Erin Mcgill]
3 responses so far ↓
1 Gordon Soderberg // Jan 22, 2008 at 7:32 am
I’m volunteer who came to New Orleans a day after Katrina left and stayed. I think that New Orleans is a symbol of what is best about America and it shows what is the worst aspects of their government. The people who have come to help are America’s heroes the Federal government are it’s villains. While the Red Cross remained outside of the city for two weeks at the request of the Federal Government, veterans, old hippies, retired postal workers, college students and children came in with food water tools and hope. While the government tried to vilify the population of New Orleans in the press the people didn’t listen and kept coming. Disaster relief should not be an exercise in Police state tactics it should be a all out effort to say lives and property. The questions now is, will the government continue to send our national guard to war rather than keep them here to assist in natural disasters? I think you know the answer. So I would suggest that all Americans learn disaster relief techniques. Not from the Red Cross who is not capable of doing anything other than draw blood and money out of the people. The people need to be able to take care of each other when the next Katrina hits. Don’t think for a second that government will come to your rescue, I’ll bet it will be a hippie and veteran who gets to you first!
2 Startup New Orleans // Mar 11, 2008 at 2:23 pm
[...] rebuilding process centered around innovation and fueled by entrepreneurs. This is evident in the movement that is currently going on. According to Sean Cummings, a local developer and co-founder of Start [...]
3 Startup New Orleans | Michael Karnjanaprakorn // Mar 12, 2008 at 6:51 am
[...] rebuilding process centered around innovation and fueled by entrepreneurs. This is evident in the movement that is currently going on. According to Sean Cummings, a local developer and co-founder of Start [...]
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