As the 5th Anniversary Approaches...

I have been watching bits of coverage here and there about the 5th anniversary of Katrina. I don't know how to express my feelings, other than to write a bit. I watch the videos and listen to the coverage and I am overcome with amazement at how much people can endure. I am reading the book Nine Lives by Dan Baum, I am almost done with it and it truly gives you such a sense of what the heart of NOLA is. What people endure and how they come out of it is truly amazing.

When we delivered supplies to Chicago Public Schools a week ago, I was amazed at the appreciation and the total heart that the staff at the schools put into each day. I wished I could have that same spirit. When faced with some of the worst parts of our society, racism, child abuse, and more, these wonderful educators continue on to make the best of what the day brings and to provide a smiling face to children who so desperately need it.

I am enduring my own struggles as we all do, and I wonder if I can be as strong as those who have survived so much, my own problems seem so minor when you look at what so many have had to overcome or succumb to. Yet none of us should diminish our own lives, we should take a bit of the courage we seen in others and step in and let it wash over us. As we move forward as New Orleans is, we should be able to harness the drive and motivation that has brought us all to where we are today.

Another successful delivery:)

I finally have a chance to sit down and blog a bit about our trip to NOLA this year. I find the work we do exhilarating and yet I entered this trip with apprehension. Unsure as to whether this would be our last trip to deliver supplies to NOLA or not. After all the hurdles we had to overcome to make a successful trip, I was not sure what we would encounter once we were down there. I, of course, was pleasantly surprised, the volunteers were all wonderful and ventured out happily into the hot New Orleans sun.

Me, my mom, my sister Danielle, my daughter Ashley, my cousin Katie, friends Dick, Len, Bruce and his wife Marilyn, and John, all left at 5AM on Sunday in 2 SUV's. We took turns driving and sleeping:) We made good time down to NOLA, making stops only for gas and food. Once in NOLA, we checked into the Wyndham Whitney and then ventured out for dinner at nearby Landry's (a frequent SCC stop). While out, my cousin April arrived from Houston. Once we all were back at the hotel, we planned for the next day and then were off to a full nights sleep. I had been diagnosed with bronchitis on Friday so had some great medicine to put me into a peaceful slumber:)

Monday morning at 6:30 we were all up and ready to go! We had a quick breakfast on the run and then headed for the rental truck place and the warehouse. The supplies we loaded up in Mokena, were waiting to be unloaded when the warehouse opened in NOLA. The crew at the warehouse was great and they quickly unloaded the semi and loaded up the 3 rental trucks. While we were there our dear friend Kate from RHINO (www.scapc.org/RHINO) joined us for the day.

And we were off, by 10AM we were delivering supplies and the sun was hot and heavy as the temperature was over 90! We delivered to 7 schools, we had a caravan of two SUV's and 2 rental trucks. At each stop, we had paperwork to be signed by the school and then we have to figure out where to unload the trucks. Sometimes we could set items inside the door, sometimes we had to go up several flights of stairs, and sometimes down stairs. Each school received 1 or 2 pallets of brand new school supplies. One school even received over $3,000 in musical instruments.

One or two people got into the back of the trucks and then the rest of us carried the items, that they unloaded off the pallets, into the school. At several schools the principals came out to thank us and tell us how long the supplies lasted in the past and how appreciative they were of our efforts. One school even had several teachers who came out to thank us. Truly rewarding to provide these supplies to both students and teachers. After we returned one rental truck and picked up another we all headed back to shower and relax. Dick provided us with a wonderful dinner at Arnaud's followed by Beignet's at cafe Du Monde, before retiring for the night.

On Tuesday we delivered to 8 more schools although we did not rise quite so early. The heat was even more brutal today and thus the volunteers were very motivated to get it unloaded quickly so that we were finished by 2PM and missed the most brutal heat of the day. We had one unfortunate mishap with the roof of a truck and a tree that put a damper on things, but all in all a successful day. We lunched at our favorite NOLA Pizza place, Reginelli's on Magazine and had dinner at Nacho Mama's next door to that.

Wednesday morning the alarm went off at 4:30 and by 5:10 we were on our way home. The days in NOLA fly by and I never have enough energy to truly enjoy all the city has to offer. Yet each visit offers something special, this trip allowed me to share the importance of volunteering with my mom, my sister, my daughter and my cousins. Something that I find as rewarding as the school supplies themselves. So, as I close out this evening, I reflect on this trip and look forward to the next. I wonder how delivering supplies to Chicago Public Schools will compare, will I find the fulfillment I have in NOLA each year? Will I be able to bring the feelings of accomplishment and yet need to do more back to my classroom? Will I be able to inspire others to accomplish the desperately needed work in out public schools?

Stay tuned...

Loading Tomorrow!

Last minute problems are arising one by one, but we are working through them as we speak. If anyone knows a forklift driver I could use one. Two volunteers are unable to come but we continue plugging along and I know that we will be successful in loading all these supplies for the children of NOLA. See you tomorrow!

Getting ready..

This year has certainly been the most trying when it comes to getting things ready for school children. But as we are getting closer and closer, things are coming together. We have a great group of volunteers coming out to help us load up the supplies as well as a group of 13 helping us deliver them. As I was having breakfast this morning, I was talking to my friend Eleanor, she offered the insight that the best part about it all is that perhaps we are inspiring the next generation to think of those around them and how they can help.

That's it, isn't it... I hope I am setting the right example for my children, but also for my students in the classroom, and the neighbors children and so on. The amazing thing about all of this, is that given the opportunity, people from all walks of life, come forward and bond together to make a greater difference.

Readying for NOLA 2010

Today we are in the midst of getting ready to head to NOLA for our 5th and final delivery of school supplies there. It is with great sadness that we have determined that this must be our last trip down. The amount of barriers that have come up over the last few months have been quite trying, especially for a nonprofit this small.

Our past suppliers of notebooks, folders, binders, pencils, pens, etc., will no longer do bulk orders. Which lead us to investigate a variety of other sources, we looked into having notepaper printed and bound ourselves, ordering from Poland and having it shipped over, ordering in bulk from warehouse stores, ordering in bulk from office supply stores, you name it I think we looked into it. In the end, no one could match the prices for these items at the local discount store, so we have been forced to recruit volunteers to go to the store in their areas and purchase $200-$300 dollars worth of supplies at a time, then we pick them up or they drop them off and we organize and box it.

While this doesn't sound to bad, realize that the volunteers are going out to purchase 15,000 folders and 10,000 notebooks, not a small feat I assure you. In addition we are buying pens, pencils, and binders. Our second set back this year was the cost of rental trucks. Typically we have sent 1-2 semi's down with supplies ahead of us going down. the semi's unload at the NOLA Public Schools warehouse. Then we follow down in a variety of vehicles, rent trucks in NOLA in addition to a few we drive down with additional supplies.

This year the issue with this is two-fold. First, NOLA schools no longer have a warehouse for us to unload the semi's into, so we were going to drive down several rental trucks loaded with the supplies for each school already. This is when the second issue arose, in the past we were charged about $600 for the rental trucks to drive down there, this year the lowest price they would give the non-profit for 3 trucks is $1300 a piece! In addition to having to pay for the gas for all of these!

So as you can see the efforts this year have been enormous to overcome all of these obstacles. We are now looking at hiring a semi to haul the items down, driving cars down, renting trucks in NOLA, unloading from the semi in a parking lot into the rental trucks for delivery (not sure how that will work with no loading dock or forklift!).

While I continue to believe s very much in the work we are doing and the benefits to the children of New Orleans. It is so disheartening to run into this many problems and then you get an email from a principal at one of the Public Schools you have helped in the past, and she asks if you will help provide supplies for her students, now that they have just informed her (mid-July) that they are closing her public school and repositioning her at a charter school.

Disheartening to say the least! As I get ready to do residency verification and registration for my children in the upcoming weeks, I am so grateful to have the educational opportunities for them, but it brings back around the question of educational equality for everyone and why can we not achieve this?

Those faces...

On Friday a student, who in general is a pain in my side, but who I have a good rapport with, carried in a large box of about 20 pounds. He carried it almost a mile from his home to my office. Inside were toothbrushes ala Dora the Explorer, Toothpaste, Examination Gloves, etc. All donated to Haiti. I was so thrilled to have this student take the initiative to ask for these donations and then deliver. Given the opportunity, students of all ages do amazing things. On Friday I shipped those supplies along with the stuffed animals my daughter donated, down to Florida. Where I will rely on Haiti Partners www.haitipartners.com to forward them to these beautiful smiling faces you see above. In addition I purchased 47 books tonight with the money my other student collected to send to IMN School as well.

I also took a moment to photograph this sweet little bee on the iris by my mailbox...

Given the Opportunity...

Given the opportunity to do good, children of all ages rise to the occassion, many times on their own. This week one of my students Ellie, a member of the Chicago Children's Choir, took it upon herself to raise some money for IMN School in Haiti. Ellie made an announcement during their concert last week and then stood outside the doors as people exited with buckets and collected $545 in donations! The money will be used to purchased English/Haitian Picture dictionaries and Picture Board Books for the children at IMN in Darbonne.

My own two children this weekend, created their own opportunity as well, we had a garage sale this weekend, and they made cookie dough the night before and baked wonderful warm chocolate chip cookies, made coffee, and lemonade. All the profits, $35 or so, is being donated to IMN as well. In addition, they donated several of their toys to the children and we will be mailing them down there.

Another student of mine, Ashley, just emailed me tonight, wanting to run a fundraiser through her place of employment. Children of all ages are truly amazing to step up to the opportunities availabel to them.

thank you all so very much for making a differnce...

Children from anywhere.

These are children in the room at IMN school getting ready to do a traditional dance.  They look happy and upbeat and are smiling and could be children anywhere.  Except they are here in Darbonne.  They will leave these walls and walk down streets strewn with litter and debris, fallen rock and cinder block, dust everywhere.  The homes they go to are unknown to me, some may have walls with cracks or holes, some may have nothing but thin sheets pulled between two posts.  None have running water, few have electricity, toys and games would be hard to come by.  I see their smiles, I feel their joy, I cannot understand the pain that lies in their eyes.  I want to help each of them, but do not know how. 

I share what I can about what I saw but I continue to struggle with the images myself.  My students today asked questions about Haiti and I shared with them for about 20 minutes, but in that time I could not express the true impact of what I had seen.  Nor the impact of not knowing how I can help them...

More on Haiti

So as I am sitting here, I am thinking of all the things I saw and didn't see but are there.  On Sunday we drove through the outskirts of Port Au Prince.  This is where they displaced some people in tents on the mountainside.  Just below these tents is vacant land, littered with garbage and rubble.  But what you don't see are the mass graves that are there, not only those who died in the Earthquake, but those from governments long past.  There is some talk of building housing here, but who would ever do so?  The Haitian people many times spend more on burying their dead than they do on their own homes.  How would they ever live on the bodies of others...

Hello From Haiti

Ok, so Dick posts on the other blog, but I figured I could post my impressions here.  I am not sure where to begin or how to explain what you see here.  When we first arrived at the airport all seems normal other than you are bussed to a large metal "garage" for immigration and customs as well as baggage claim.  There are hundreds of people in there and baggage comes fairly quickly.  Then once you proceed outside there is a large tent and hundreds of people wanting to help you with your items, for a fee. It is utter chaos and actually could have been quite frightening.  John Engle met us there and we proceeded through the crowds to his vehicle.

The streets are a mess of people, trash, rubble, animals, carts, fires, and so much more.  There are large holes, cracks, and more that you must drive around or through.  Many roads are unpaved and appear to be little more than a walking path that someone drove over.  There are small carts with food and goods for sale everywhere and amidst in all what looks like a million tents in areas that used to be parks and fields.  Those who are "lucky" have a tarp or tents, the unlucky try to string up any fabric they have found between wood poles.  There are lines of port a potties here and there and I did see one man with a bucket, cleaning them out. 

The children are seen waiting in line for water from one source or another, playing in a pile of rubbish, sitting on the side of the road or in it, hard to tell the difference.  They walk miles carrying water or anything else that the family needs.  Some have shoes and clothing, some do not.  Many people are trying to earn a living, through these streetside sales, offering some sort of service, or gathering coal, metal, wood or other items.

Each day I amazed at the horrific sights I have seen, the rubble is everywhere and it is obvious it was not there before.  I feel sad and powerless.  What can we do to help so very many who are suffering?  The sand and wind and dirt that blows through the air is a horrible reminder of the conditions here.  Your skin is almost coated in it, thrown from the still fresh debris.

The school IMN we visited in Darbonne is a simple structure with 3 rooms each divided in half for each class.  The children where all dressed up and had prepared a program for us.  They were adorable and grateful and so well behaved.  Yet what you did not see was the conditions they went home to.  The fact that water was only available from 4-6PM I believe they said, so we must be done in time for them to go wait in line at the only water source at that time.

Many have cleared rubble and some have been able to begin rebuilding in some form.  The director of the school has a small home (one room) with plywood and a tin roof.  He and his wife were so very wonderful, they welcomed us into their home, served us rice and beans and chicken.  They had been preparing the meal for 3-4 hours.  I felt so disheartened by what was around them and the conditions that is hard to accept food when you know they have so little.

I am not sure what more to tell you about right now, perhaps when I am back in the states I will be able to reflect more, for now, there is just a huge overwhelming sadness that there is so very little I can do for these people.  I am also so very grateful for being born where I was and yet that seems so very selfish...

Heading to Haiti...

So in just over 24 hours, I will be beginning the trip to Haiti.  Honestly, I have been so busy I haven't even really had time to reflect on what it means.  I am unsure of the impact what I see will have, but I know it will be life changing.  Just like the first time I visited New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck, the devastation was so immense and the site of the rubble was so deflating.  The thought that NOLA would never resurface did enter my mind.  Yet I was compelled to take action, probably the first time in my life that I really took initiative to make a difference on behalf of others.  Whenever I head back to NOLA I see the changes and the power that individual people have mustered up to make those changes happen and I am forever humbled by their courage and motivation to make lives for themselves and others, out of what literally was a pile of rubble.

So I head to Haiti, I am grateful to my partner for the opportunities he has provided not only me, but many many others with to make a difference.  I am inspired by the people I have met along this path, through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, RHINO, Global Hope, and now Kids for Good and Haiti Partners.  Each person in each organization has been compelled to act to better the lives of others.  I wonder what my piece in this is and how I am making a difference in the world. 

As a teacher I am trying each day to guide my students toward a greater understanding of the world around them.  I try to be a positive role model and let them know what I do to volunteer and give back to not only my local community, but now those around the world.  So, as I head to Haiti, I am looking forward to seeing what the students, teachers, and citizens are inspired by, what obstacles they are finding the strength to overcome, and hopefully in some way how I can help them reach their goals.

We will be recording portions of our visit and will try to post it from Haiti.  If I have time, I will try to blog and reflect on what I see while there.  The videos, or links at least will be posted at http://www.schoolscountcorp.blogspot.com/

Thanks to Flip Video...

I just wanted to mention before I blog about heading to Haiti, that thanks to some wonderful co-workers and a tech savy student, I was able to apply for a grant from Flip Video.  Through the Flipshare program, I was able to purchase a Flip Video Camera to take to Haiti to record what is being accomplished at IMN school.  Then Flipshare donated, free of charge, an additional camera to be left with IMN in Haiti so they can record the good works they do and share them via the internet.  Check out our video at http://www.schoolscountcorp.blogspot.com/ and watch in the upcoming days as we post from Haiti.

Heading to Haiti

Earlier this week I was fortunate to be part of the conversation of how Global Hope, Haiti Partners and Schools Count Corp can work together in the upcoming year.  Projects include delivering supplies to Chicago Public Schools, painting or renovations there as well, Delivering supplies to New Orleans schools, and possibilities of building, and supporting schools in Haiti.  The promise of better educational environments for all students is so energizing!

While this Spring Break time, I will not be heading to New Orleans for the first time in years, I am excited at the prospects ahead of us.  I have pangs of sadness that I am not going to NOLA, but I will be heading to Haiti, Darbonne to be exact, the end of April.  I will keep you posted on the needs and encourage you to keep reading and educating yourselves, there are many in our own communities even.

Haiti

As we watch all the coverage of the horrific earthquake that rocked Haiti, I am always humbled by how powerless we really are when it comes to natural disasters of any kind. However, when we all come together we can make such wonderful changes in the world. As we were driving down the road today, we saw a family selling hot chocolate and cookies on the sidewalk in the middle of July in Chicagoland. It is 27 degrees out here today and the 3 little girls were taking turns holding a sign that read "Help Haiti" while the other two and mom and dad where taking orders from cars and filling them.

As we raise our children who become the next generation, I hope we try to teach them to have empathy for others and help in any way they can. If we can accomplish this feat then think of what a better place our world will be for the generations to come. I wanted to thank those parents for getting their kids off the ipods and xboxes, and getting out there with them to show that YOU EACH ONE OF YOU, can make a difference. In turn perhaps the greatest benefit is not the money raised by that family today to help others but the inspiration that will drive others and those little girls in the future to help those in need, anywhere.

As a teacher and parent I continue to look for ways to encourage children to look for opportunities to aid others. There are so many untapped opportunities out there and I have found that no matter how much we give (mentally, physically, spiritually, and economically), we always get more in return.

My thoughts and prayers are with all Haitians...

Dawn