Reflections on 9 NYU Students' Alternative Spring Break 2006, helping with clearing and reconstruction in Katrina-afflicted New Orleans.

Monday, April 03, 2006

Tuesday, March 14th

We spent the day salvaging the contents of a warehouse belonging to Rose Marie Sand. She runs a production company, Shine, and the warehouse also had supplies from screen-printing and stained-glass business, as well as personal items, including paintings by her late husband, who passed away earlier this year.

All of the day's team with Rose (holding the sign). The group included students from Fordham and Wesleyan, and a professor from NYU.



We were visited by the Red Cross - this happened a few times during the week - who go through the neighborhoods inviting people to come and get free food from their trucks. They were very friendly, and they encouraged us to help ourselves to their supplies. Some of us felt bad taking meals intended for local residents affected by the hurricane - they told us that the more we took, the more funding they would continue to receive.

I'm still thinking about that one.



Fareed and Lauren carrying out debris:



Leah and Bea scrubbing mud-encrusted objects:



Manuel cleaning a picture frame:



Lauren, as in her own words, power-washing her a** off!



Kim and Bryan propping up one of the gates to be cleaned



We managed to get most of the mud off the paintings, but I don't know if they'll ever lie flat again. Athena adds one of Milton Sand's to the stack to be cleaned:

All of the photos in the next post - see above - are by Manuel (as well as the Monday, March 13th post).

Below are a selection of photographs by Leah from Tuesday, March 14th.