Volunteering

My friend, Herb, was supposed to go with me to volunteer at the shelter. But his plane wouldn’t get in until 5 pm. I was a little worried about the 8pm cutoff. So, I asked my friend, Racquel to go with me instead. I told Herb that he could just meet us there if he got in on time.

She had a pedicure appointment until 530, so we couldn’t leave until then. In the meantime, I scheduled a massage to get rid of all the muscle pain from spelunking. By the time we got to Kelly AFB, it was around 6ish.

As we walked into the shelter, many evacuees were sitting outside trying to get fresh air. The first things we saw were tables set up with sign-in sheets for volunteers and the media. I brought the camera with me, hoping to capture some poignant moments, but I wasn’t allowed to use it.

Basically, the shelter looked like it was an airplane hangar. They told us to go to Section D at the back of the building. As we walked through 3 hangar beys, all I could focus on were the sea of cots that lined up the building. To try and get privacy, people would group a few cots together and put other cots on their sides to make “walls.” It was unbelievable. I’ve seen it before through the internet, newscasts, and magazines, but when you experience it firsthand, it is such a different feeling. There are 1100 people being housed in just this one shelter.

I was worried about volunteering because I was afraid that I would break down and be of no use. But as I walked through, I noticed that the Red Cross had set up such a support system for the evacuees, that it made me feel better.

There were:
• Panels of Job postings
• An area set up for church services
• A Park and Rec area, where they set up a basketball court
• A closed off section for school, with about 50 computers
• Tables to sign up for free airline and bus tickets
• Flyers ranging from a free carnival for the kids to free hair services for the women
• A section for book exchanges
• A dining area, where roast beef and potatoes were being served for dinner
• and A Daycare Center

After filling out the appropriate paperwork, they assigned us to Daycare. It was a sectioned off area that had a huge TV, a coloring and painting section, backpacks & little Loew’s aprons, stuffed animals, you name it, they had it there. As soon as I walked up to the Daycare, a little girl around 6 years old comes running up to me with her arms open wide. She just gave me a huge hug and said “I Love You!” I told her that I loved her too.

We weren’t really briefed on any rules or what to do, but we found out as we went along. I ended up just playing with the kids and taking care of some babies. Some of the kids looked like they hadn’t bathed in days and most of them didn’t have shoes. But the one thing they shared was that they all became attached very easily. I gave piggyback rides to kids that were probably a little too big to be riding on my back. But it was worth it.

Although some kids, had poopy diapers that were stewing for quite some time, we weren’t allowed to change any of them. They didn’t want us to have any liability, in case the parents would turn it around and accuse anyone of sexually harassing their kids. I felt horrible because a 2 year old kept scratching down there. We finally called a nurse to come over and take care of it.

That same 2 year old was quite a handful. As I was walking by, I heard her saying “F**K” nonstop for several minutes. Another volunteer tried to get her to stop but wasn’t successful. Finally, I got hold of a Dora book and said, “Look, what’s her name?” She responded with Dora, and then I tried to divert her away from the cussing for a while. I left to play with someone else, and apparently she picked up a play phone and said “Get your ass over here.” This is a 2 year old, mind you. I couldn’t believe it. And she was throwing tantrums nonstop. But I found if you just devoted a little time to her, that she turned into the sweetest little girl.

But I don’t think her parents nurture her the way she needs to be. Previously, the daycare allowed parents to drop off their kids for 4 hours at a time. Then, it got changed to 2 hours. The Daycare is supposed to be closed as soon as dinnertime hits, when the parents are supposed to check them out.

Well, everyone got picked up…..except the 2 year old girl and her 1 year old brother. It took us a half hour to actually find out WHO their mother was. Although she signed in, her handwriting was illegible. The kids have masking tapes on their backs with their names. That’s how we were able to track her name down. The problem was, we found the name, but had no idea which area she was staying in. A volunteer brought some of the older kids over, asking if they knew who their mother was and where they slept. No luck.

By 730, the head volunteer finally called someone to let them know that the kids were not claimed. After getting them some food, we left just as the police were coming. They have Child Protection Services on site, and the kids were going to be turned over to them. One woman mentioned that their mother may be working or looking for a job. I hope that that’s the case because I can’t imagine someone going through such a tragic event like Katrina, and then abandoning her babies.

We didn’t get to talk to many adults but as we were leaving, people waved to us and gave us huge smiles. That alone was worth the trip. Being able to contribute my time was so fulfilling and I’m glad that I had the opportunity to do so. May God help the survivors get back on their feet.