I want to begin this blog with the word begin and the word start. I could talk about the beginning of my trip and everything I have done but what is most important is the city of New Orleans and how it began. There is so much history about the land and the people and as I walked around I could see it in their eyes. Everyone here wants to share their stories and take you on a journey to share their truths of New Orleans and what happened during Katrina. 

In the beginning of this trip, I was unaware about the hurricane and how strong of an effect it had on New Orleans. I knew this trip would be an eye opener but now as I sit on my sixth day here, my eyes do not shut. They are wide open with shock and dismay. It has been five years since Katrina and from what I have seen, not a lot has been done to rebuild New Orleans and make it a safe environment for the people who live here. Not only are the houses still in ruin but also the levies are not built strong enough for future hurricane conditions.

After seeing the Lower Ninth Ward, I didn’t think I could see anything worse. Then we kept driving and we saw more and more houses that looked just like the first one I saw. It wasn’t until I saw the levees that I really understood the hardship of the state of New Orleans. It was as if our country did not care about the land of Louisiana and the importance of the beautiful history of New Orleans. The reason New Orleans flooded was because the levees broke.

In 1927, it was certain that levees were blown up to flood the town of New Orleans during the hurricane. It was also speculated that in 1965, hurricane Betsy had levees blown up as well. There is no certain truth to what happened in hurricane Katrina but I believe the levees were not strong enough.

I don’t like looking at the negatives I have seen in New Orleans but the truth is, it is the reality. There is so much support this state needs. For example, education for the children needs to be improved. I met one of the students of “Our School at Blair Grocery,” the uplifting place we are volunteering at. The student I met was captivating as she read a fiction story she wrote and told us stories of her experiences during Katrina. She is extremely bright and she told me she loves the school here. As I watched her tell her stories, a feeling of hope ran through me. At that point I knew that the volunteer work we were doing is for an extremely good cause. We have been doing farm work to build crops for the community grocery store.

There are positives in New Orleans. The main positive I see is love, strength, and community. I gained an understanding of this through volunteering at the grocery store and listening to Tanya, one of our tour guides. Tanya showed us her house in the lower ninth ward and her mom’s house near by as well as her friend’s house. The loving community I see gives me a sense of hope that gradually this community can strive for success. Our School at Blair Grocery is building up to begin and strengthen this community.

The sense of beginning I feel is a slow process of an inspiring rebuilding. Our SF Hillel has been helping New Orleans rebuild but we have been building a community for ourselves as well. We have become close and inspired with each other and we want to help our environment and community back home.

I could go on and on about how amazing this experience is and how much I have learned from my peers, the staff, and New Orleans but I have to stop and help out with growing some yummy crops. I’m going to end this blog with the word I started with. “Begin” because there is always a chance for a new beginning for the people and the land of New Orleans. 

-This post is by Julena Ariel Cone, San Francisco State Student, who is currently a participant on a JFSJ service learning trip in New Orleans