Compelled by faith and desire to help others, 53 Wesleyan students spent the first week of spring break rebuilding houses in southern Mississippi, an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
The Wesleyan Christian Fellowship (WesCF) organized the trip in conjunction with Yale’s Christian Fellowship and Willing Hearts, Helping Hands (WHHH), a charity based at Calvary Chapel in Uncasville, Conn. Several students from Yale accompanied the Wesleyan volunteers, about half of whom were members of WesCF.
The volunteers stayed in a local church basement near the Bay St. Louis area work sites just an hour east of New Orleans. Since Katrina hit, the church has been serving as a relief center, with approximately 150 cots set up.
“We worked at various sites, rebuilding, demolishing, clearing, observing, remodeling, fixing, rewiring, comforting, listening, seeing, cleaning, thinking, and doubting,” said Joel Ting ’07.
Working with professional contractors, the volunteers also built the framework for houses and installed roofs.
“Some houses had been completely destroyed, and we put up the frame and roof on two houses,” said WesCF staff advisor Greg Hendrickson. “Other houses had been flooded; we replaced drywall and set up electrical wiring. At most places, we met the homeowners, most of whom were elderly.”
Aldo Tedjomoeljono ’07, who decided to spend the first week of spring break in Mississippi rather than being interviewed for a summer internship, said meeting the actual people he was helping personally touched him.
“One person came to us with tears running down his face, and told us his story and how grateful he was,” Tedjomoeljono said. “The mother had health problems and her son had a stroke, so there was no way they could’ve rebuilt the house. We really touched peoples’ lives.”
The volunteers also received their share of support from homeowners, who often provided them with drinks and food from their own fridges.
“[Many of those who lost their homes] were living in trailers, and they cooked for us,” Ting said.
For many student volunteers, the example set by Jesus was reason enough to help these victims.
“My motivation comes directly from faith and what the Bible says about Jesus and what he has done,” said Lynn Allison ’06. “The more I read the Bible and the more I have experiences like this, the more I see how God moves through individuals. It was really amazing.”
Tedjomoeljono pointed to several Biblical passages where Jesus personally touched someone for the purpose of healing.
“If Jesus spent so much of his time on individuals, why shouldn’t we?” he said.
In the evenings, the volunteers discussed the intersection between faith and service.
“We discussed Jesus’ teachings about poverty, suffering, and justice,” Hendrickson said. “For some people, it was an opportunity to explore Christianity for the first time. Others considered how a concern for justice might impact their future career plans.”
Several of the volunteers said these discussions helped them put things into perspective.
“Sometimes I felt that I was not being effective when hammering nails, and then one night we read about Jesus healing lepers,” said Rafael Aussie Haryono Putro ’06. “He personally touched them even though they were contagious. I realized that we’re not only being productive in building houses, but we’re building personal relationships with [the victims of Katrina] and letting them know we’re there to support them.”
After accomplishing a lot in one week, volunteers were able to physically see the changes they helped bring about. The week spent in Mississippi also left them with a lot to reflect upon.
“By the end of the week, just seeing the big picture after taking care of all the details made me realize we were making a difference,” Haryono Putro said.
“You can walk away feeling good about yourself, but the more work you do toward social justice, the less satisfied you are because you see so much more needs to be done and you want to be part of it,” Allison said.
Nicole Lai ’08 said she wondered why she did not see very many local volunteers, and she was afraid that some people displaced by Katrina have become content with their current situations.
“[The] trailer parks with free electricity and water supplied by the government makes some people want to stay there,” Lai said. “A lot of people seemed to be sitting down, not doing anything, relying on the government for support.”
Lai mentioned that some of those who lost their homes and loved ones might still be too devastated to do very much. Though some people spend all day picking up trash, the area remains a mess.
“I’m wondering how it will be ten years later,” said Yuri Aihara ’08. “It’s been a half-year and not much has changed here. There needs to be a better system.”
Prior to their work in Mississippi, the volunteers stopped in New Orleans and visited the Ninth Ward and other devastated areas. They described it a surreal area that looked as if the hurricane hit just a few weeks ago.
“The Superdome looks clean, sterile, large, and out-of-this-world,” Ting said. “It reminds me of one of the giant alien killing machines in the blockbuster movie ‘War of the Worlds.”
Lyn-Ni Lee ’08 said that watching local residents play basketball made her feel hopeful despite the terrible situation.
“I felt their hopelessness,” she said. “[But] I think we were giving them hope. Our presence there did that most.”
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