Done Already?

And so several hundred nails, shingles, 2X4s and gallons of paint later it's all over. The Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project ended this afternoon amid lightning and thunderous downpours, photoshoots and hugs.

As I sit at the make-shift internet centre in the foyer of the hotel I'm watching the volunteers slowly drift into the dining room for their dinner. Hard hats, toolbelts, sunburn and limps abound. I met Americans from so many different states I've lost count....

There was Dallas, from Phoenix; Cleveland - he was from Detroit; and Tex... well, I don't remember where Tex come from.

They came from all over; some just for the week squeezing the time out of their ridiculously short holidays; some have been here for months/years already, so moved by the events of Katrina they had to come help. Most strongly in evidence are the Americorps volunteers comprising young people who take a year out between high school and university to serve society. We've also met quite a few retired couples that are living out of RVs in a constant state of volunteering - one couple are driving from state to state building Habitat homes where ever they go. They aim to hit every state with the possible exception of Hawaii - fair enough.

The local Habitat organisation on the Gulf Coast was formed by two separate affiliates joining together in the wake of Katrina and Rita. They estimate that almost 7,000 people have volunteered with them since 2005 and their constant message is 'Don't forget about us'. This area is nowhere near recovered from the hurricanes (almost 3 years on). While they've built over 1300 homes so far thousands more are needed. Over 200,000 people are still displaced from New Orleans alone and in towns like Biloxi and Pascagoula certain neighborhoods were entirely decimated.

One lady tried to describe the impact--not only do you lose everything you own, including your job in many cases, but so do all your family and friends. How do you recover from that?

Kenya Wilson and her two girls have been living in a damp, stinking 2 bedroom apartment that was flooded by the hurricane. Hers was the house I helped build this week- a three bedroom house built 5 feet off the ground with a perfectly shingled roof (well the bits I did :). It isn't finished but it will be soon and, while it would have been built whether or not I had come on this trip, I'm glad some of my sweat and tears went into the building of it.
Here's the build in stages:




I really didn't think I'd enjoy the building aspect of the build as much as I did - but boy is it satisfying to swing a hammer! Most of the skills I picked up will be utterly obsolete in Ireland as building is completely different at home - even the terminology is completey different--who in Ireland is going to know what sheetrock, siding or penny nails are?

Thus ends my first Habitat for Humanity build-- every single American I know in Ireland has done one-- do I get my passport now?!

Tomorrow I hit New Orleans for some well-earned R&R - beignets and Bourbon street call.

Laissez les bons temps roulez...