Title: Lutheran Students Discover 'What A Relief!' it is to Help Others ELCA NEWS SERVICE
March 22, 2006
Lutheran Students Discover 'What A Relief!' it is to Help Others 06-044-MRC
OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (ELCA) -- We're here to restore lives, said Mary Ellen Burke, sophomore, Marquette University, Milwaukee. "I can't say that I've cleaned up all of southern Mississippi, but I can say that I've touched a few lives." Burke is one of 1,100 students who participated in "What a Relief!" -- an opportunity for students and others in campus communities to spend their spring break helping survivors of the 2005 hurricane season recover. Lutheran Disaster Response organized What a Relief!
College and university students from across the country flocked to Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi to muck out houses and apartment buildings and remove debris from beaches, parks and neighborhoods in an effort to rebuild the U.S Gulf Coast.
"I will walk away (from the experience) with a better understanding of disaster and how it affects people," said Jessica Stoner, freshman, North Dakota State University, Fargo. Helping to clean up around town "is a good way to spend spring break. It's about helping people instead of just helping yourself," she said.
"Many people here feel forgotten," according to Amber Anderson, junior, Minnesota State University, Moorhead. Students "have been saying to them, 'We know you're here, and we're happy to help." In return, Anderson said students received many expressions of gratitude from the Ocean Springs community. "As some of us walk around town, we've had people in their cars honk horns and yell out, 'Thank you,'" she said.
John Pulkrabek, a graduate student from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, encourages students that have yet to volunteer to "come and help. It's a lot of hard work, and you're sore at the end of the day. You cannot understand what has happened here until you've come here."
Jennifer Maas, sophomore, Minnesota State University, Moorhead, said finding pictures of families in the rubble "made me cry. It made me realize how much is lost here."
"I'm overwhelmed with how much (debris) has not been touched, especially in Hancock County, Mississippi," said Kelly Giese, freshman, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. "I can't believe that it still looks like a bomb went off here. (The work) is so far from being done. More help is needed," she said.
There were 82 students and others from colleges and universities from the Upper Midwest working March 13-17 in and around Ocean Springs, said the Rev. Darin N. Johnson, Lutheran campus ministry, North Dakota State University.
"The students are energetic and have accomplished so much. They have restored faith in humanity. The past six months have been so difficult for the community, so when people come to help it's uplifting," Johnson said.
Students donate $770,000-worth of help
By the end of spring break, students will have donated $770,000-worth of in-kind volunteer service, said Michael D. Nevergall, associate for program interpretation, Lutheran Disaster Response. Based in Chicago, Lutheran Disaster Response is a national ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
"We multiply every volunteer hour by $17.50, which is the government-standard rate for rebuilding work," he said. Students worked an average of 40 hours per week.
Since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, Lutheran Disaster Response has coordinated about 400,000 volunteer work hours, said Nevergall. Given that, approximately $7 million- worth of work has been conducted in hurricane-affected communities, he said.
Lutheran Disaster Response projects that recovery work following Hurricane Katrina will take the next six to eight years in Louisiana and Mississippi, said Nevergall. In Alabama, it is estimated at three to five years. In Florida, recovery work following Hurricane Wilma is estimated at three to five years, but relief work "unfortunately never really ends because the state is struck by hurricanes almost every year," he said.
Rebuilding work is 'grueling' but brings people together
Nevergall helped develop What a Relief! in an effort to provide students across the country an alternative to traditional spring break activities.
"One of my biggest reasons for wanting to put something like this together was that I did this kind of work in college," he said. Rebuilding work "is hard and grueling. You get hot, sweaty and stinky, and it's awesome. Staff of Lutheran Disaster Response (sought) to give students an opportunity to do something that they wouldn't otherwise do during spring break."
Part of what the college and university students experience in disaster relief work is building relationships while working together.
While clean-up work involves lifting heavy debris and other challenges, "all you have to do is wave your hand and about 20 people immediately come to your aid," said Matt Skoy, senior, North Dakota State University.
According to Nick Demske, senior, Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis., student living arrangements have "made us one big family. We're sleeping in a very large room at the Swingster Warehouse in town. Cots are placed at lease six inches apart."
"The Swingster Warehouse will eventually house as many as 200 volunteers a week," said Nevergall.
Half of the 52,000 square feet warehouse serves as a distribution center, where survivors of Hurricane Katrina can receive food, cleaning supplies and other materials. Students occupy the other half of the warehouse.
"We're very excited to have the Swingster Warehouse as a multi-purpose facility, because it allows us to continue a wide range of services," said Nevergall.
Other student groups and volunteers working on behalf of Lutheran Disaster Response are sleeping in church buildings and outdoor tents.
Christus Victor Lutheran Church, Ocean Springs, provides housing for students and other volunteers. In the past three months at least 2,000 volunteers have operated out of Christus Victor, said Jim Antonakos, volunteer coordinator, Lutheran Disaster Response. He said the church is able to accommodate about 200 volunteers a day while still meeting the needs of hurricane survivors.
Immediately after Hurricane Katrina struck, Christus Victor became a 24-hour health clinic, distribution center and shelter. The church narthex became a Red Cross intake registration center. The church's fellowship hall became a food and material distribution center, and its Sunday school rooms and sanctuary became bedrooms for hurricane survivors and disaster response volunteers.
The church's disaster response mission is now "moving out of crisis into sustained effort," said Antonakos. Six months after Hurricane Katrina, Christus Victor is receiving a "face lift," he said. "The sanctuary is being reconstructed, and The Red Cross has relocated its operation. Our goal is to give members of Christus Victor back their church building."
The church's food and material distribution work was relocated to the Swingster Warehouse, where students and other volunteers helped coordinate that work.
"I'm not staying at the warehouse. I'm sleeping in a tent outdoors," said Valerie Nigro, freshman, University of Nebraska, Kearney. "There are 23 students and three adult chaperons from the University of Nebraska helping this week and staying in 'tent city' here."
At the warehouse, Nigro helped distribute food and other materials to members of the community. "I love to help people. This week has been a humbling and amazing experience," she said.
Students participating in What a Relief! "have told me that this has been a life-changing experience," said Nevergall. "Often times they feel as if they have gotten much more out of this experience than what they've put into it. Many of our volunteers return home with stories about the vastness of the hurricane's destruction, and many of them make plans not only to return but to bring other people with them," he said.
"Once you've been in hurricane-affected areas, it's hard to go home with the feeling that you've done enough (work) or that the job is complete," Nevergall said. - - - DOMESTIC DISASTERS:
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