People across the nation have been reminded this week that even a year later, there is still an immeasurable amount of work needed to be done in helping restore the Gulf Coast region devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
The visuals of the destruction that the worst natural disaster in American history left in its path can be seen all around. But those pictures ? whether in newspapers, magazines or television ? do little to give outsiders a true understanding of how dire the situation still is in that part of the country.
A group of University of Maryland, Baltimore County student-athletes discovered that first-hand after spending a week in New Orleans assisting with the cleanup efforts this spring.
Many of their peers were spending spring break in places like Cancun and Daytona Beach, but Retriever women?s basketball players Kristin Drabyn, Morgan Hatten, Stacy Hunt and Amanda Robinson, along with track team member Quiteelia Boyd, were sleeping in tents provided by Habitat for Humanity, waking up at 4 a.m. and spending eight hours a day gutting houses covered in mold and filled with rodents.
None of the UMBC athletes had friends, relatives or any other ties to the impacted region. They all just felt that helping those in need was something they had to do. So they packed up their bags, climbed into a conversion van and drove 17 hours to New Orleans.
“Ever since the storm hit, I just wanted to help,” Hatten said. “I hope we made a little bit of difference down there.”
The group of young women arrived in New Orleans at night to find a nearly abandoned community with no lights and little, if any, electricity, giving them little idea of what to expect on their first day on the job. Daylight revealed a bleak picture. Eight months later, according to Hatten, the streets were still covered with trash, debrisand totaled cars. It was a sight she will never forget.
“It was even worse than I expected,” Hatten said. “I thought the area would be in better shape. We even saw houses taken off of their foundations and laying on top of cars.”
For Hunt, who led South River High School to the Class 4A final in 2005, said assisting in the cleanup effort was the first time she had truly given back to the community and that it was one of the most powerful experiences she has had in her life.
“It was like walking through a third-world country down there,” Hunt said. “I?m not sure I would have done it if I knew everything I was getting into. But now, I?ve got a greater understanding of what?s important in life. You don?t realize how much money you have tied into things like your home and car until you lose them.”
Hatten said the weeklong trip showed her exactly how precious life is and not to take anything for granted.
“After being down there, I realized anything can be taken in an instant,” she said. “We saw people that are so grateful to be alive and others that were just [ticked] off over what happened.”
Ron Snyder is a staff writer for The Examiner. He can be reached at [email protected].
