2008 Woodie Awards
Students help rebuild ruins caused by Katrina
Kate Poole
Issue date: 2/7/08 Section: News
This January a group of Sacred Heart students traveled to Biloxi, Mississippi to help rebuild the ruins from hurricane Katrina. This was one of many trips made by members of Sacred Heart's mission for Katrina, "Pushing Back the Wave."
There, they continued to rebuild homes and sites that still remain destroyed even two years after the storm had hit.
"Many people think that the Gulf Coast doesn't need our help anymore, but they don't realize that even though most of the mess in Mississippi has been cleaned up, there is very little re-building that has happened. There are still people who are without a place to live," said junior Kaitlin McNally.
McNally is a veteran of three rebuilding missions and will be on her way to her fourth this spring.
For first timers such as junior Lilah Rossi, the reality of the situation was much more than what she had expected.
"I really didn't know what to expect going down," said Rossi. "I knew that there was still devastation down there because we were still needed to go down, but never would I have guessed that it would have been as bad as what I saw."
The volunteers spent the week working on duplex homes with fellow volunteers from Habitat for Humanity. Each member of the building team had a specific job in order to effectively complete the project.
"There were points where someone's only job might have been to hold up a wall, and it's hard to realize that that's an important job, because if you aren't there holding up that wall, it falls," said McNally.
Trips such as this one and missions past have been opportunities for the students and faculty who attend to learn valuable lessons and make memories that they can bring back to the university community.
"The one thing that I really gained from this experience was to not take everything for granted," said Rossi. "The people we met in Mississippi were so inspirational, they have went through so much, yet they were still happy to be living and sharing their story with everyone."
There, they continued to rebuild homes and sites that still remain destroyed even two years after the storm had hit.
"Many people think that the Gulf Coast doesn't need our help anymore, but they don't realize that even though most of the mess in Mississippi has been cleaned up, there is very little re-building that has happened. There are still people who are without a place to live," said junior Kaitlin McNally.
McNally is a veteran of three rebuilding missions and will be on her way to her fourth this spring.
For first timers such as junior Lilah Rossi, the reality of the situation was much more than what she had expected.
"I really didn't know what to expect going down," said Rossi. "I knew that there was still devastation down there because we were still needed to go down, but never would I have guessed that it would have been as bad as what I saw."
The volunteers spent the week working on duplex homes with fellow volunteers from Habitat for Humanity. Each member of the building team had a specific job in order to effectively complete the project.
"There were points where someone's only job might have been to hold up a wall, and it's hard to realize that that's an important job, because if you aren't there holding up that wall, it falls," said McNally.
Trips such as this one and missions past have been opportunities for the students and faculty who attend to learn valuable lessons and make memories that they can bring back to the university community.
"The one thing that I really gained from this experience was to not take everything for granted," said Rossi. "The people we met in Mississippi were so inspirational, they have went through so much, yet they were still happy to be living and sharing their story with everyone."
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