Finally an update!

I have been volunteering with Koinonia in Americus, GA for the last couple months managing the Heart to Heart program there. I will be returning to New Orleans Sunday after Thanksgiving to work through the winter.

I plan to continue doing tech support and web design, however I will no longer be staying with Common Ground Relief. I have been accepted as a Minister of Hospitality at Contemplatives in Action. Be sure to check out their website for more information including my mailing address.

Last weekend Pete, Otis and I brewed up 165 Gallons of Cafe Campesino Coffee for the attendees of the annual SOA Watch Vigil at Ft. Benning. With the help of a great crew of volunteers including several from the Newman Center in Charleston, Illinois we sold the coffee raising $2500 for the SOAWatch.

Peace,
geoffrey/pax

Famous last words saying I would renew my upkeep of this log.

After a summer of serving Fair Trade Organic coffee across the country, I have now returned to New Orleans after a 3 month absence.

I am right back into things with fixing computers and updating websites. I am learning new things especially right now after being introduced to Dave, the latest addition to the Tech Team. He has a lot of experience in Unix, Mac, internet and computer security and many more things I discover every day.

I had a really nice visit to the Monastery before arriving last Thursday. It helped me refocus on the reason that I am here, both through my time alone there and while talking to a spiritual audience about why I am returning.

Be sure to read about the Jena 6 campaign as this is an important issue facing Louisiana right now.

Maybe I'll write more soon...or maybe not.

I'm back, with new blog philosophy, and new technology with my Firfox 2.0 browser with great blogging support.

The philosophy is that rather than trying to write long articles, I will try to write something, even if it is a few sentences on a regular basis.

Now that I have screened out all but the most dependable readers, I am here for you to try and give a glimpse of what life is like volunteering and living in New Orleans. I have been extremely busy. Learning open source, programming and new web design techniques. I have actually moved more toward the media collective here and I'm less involved in the tech collective. I just finished uploading new versions of the Common Ground Documentaries to the Common ground Website.

It was an interesting week. It began with a bullet hole through my tent (don't worry, I wasn't in it and it was a freak shot not aimed at anyone here). Apparently there was a shootout at the corner store, and a stray bullet came through the fence and then through my tent.

There really is a tension here in New Orleans caused by not only the results of Katrina, but years of growing levels of corruption and racism. There is also a disproportionate number of people returning who have been unable to create a new life after evacuation. While others who have been able to find work and resources elsewhere have not made a decision to return.

I am going to take a break and visit the monastery from the 19th til the 27th or so. Looking forward to some time away, good friends and indoor living.

It has been hard to find the time to write in this blog. I have been staying very busy, and though every day is very different, there is now a bit of a routine in my day.

Last night was sound sleeping until early this morning when a storm was tossing the walls of the tent about, and it's persistence finally made me get up early so I have some extra time to write today.

I have been feeling very grateful. I came down here with the intention to serve. To help with the recovery. What I wasn't expecting is the amount that I have learned. As Common Ground Collective moves into the next phase of its existence, from relief work to long term rebuilding work, they are looking for more organization. I have been put on the project of finding a task management system for the whole organization. Just at the right time another volunteer with programming skills showed up from London. Daniel will be here for two months and we have been working together on putting together this system. It is of course open source, and web based. I have learned a lot during this process about MySQL and php. Next we are to look into developing a patient management system for the free clinic.

We continue the tutoring three nights a week and though turnout has been low for the last couple nights, it is really nice to work with others and teach them while learning about their culture and passions.

I have also been working on websites. We launched a new retreat section for the monastery, and the Living The Dream 2006 site continues to grow. Next I will be working on a new producer partner section for Cafe Campesino's website.

Prior to coming here, I didn't really have passion for what I was doing so I tended toward the easy, doing what I already knew how to do and not taking on many new challenges. When we do push ourselves and take chances it is amazing what we can accomplish. When you step outside of your comfort zone you start to really flex the muscle that is your brain it is amazing how much we are capable of learning. The more you use that muscle the better it works.

Yesterday I met with Otis and Liz. They are coordinating RUBARB, a bike collective that started shortly after Katrina to recover bikes. Their name, and acronym for rusted up beyond all recognition bikes came from the mass of bicycles that were abandoned after having been underwater for weeks. They now have shop hours and people of all ages come and learn how to build themselves a bike. We are going to create a website for them to raise awareness about what they are doing and to find contributions of bikes and supplies. Watch for it at rubarbike.org

I'll try and write some more this weekend. I hope I have a few readers left, I will work on getting back into posting a little more often.

Peace,
geoffrey/pax

This film was made 120 days after Katrina, but there is very little difference between the scenes in this video and what I saw a few days ago. Apart from personal property, business remain abandoned, schools empty with their front doors flung open and even stoplights that have not been brought back into service. From what I have been told much of the lower 9th ward remains without water and electricity. For someone who didn't know they would think Katrina happened a few weeks ago in the Lower 9th ward. One can watch all these videos, but when I see it first hand it really hits hard and makes me go through a real mix of emotions.

I helped a really nice gentleman fill out his on-line application for "The Road Home" because he has not received any money from his insurance company or FEMA. His case is confusing because has power of attorney for his brother and they are co-owners of the property. It is sad that because he has a "special case" it seems the are being very slow about helping him. Meanwhile his home continues to deteriorate.

I have a new desk space in the media lab now that I am doing more website work than anything else. This office is right next to the free legal clinic. A big board out on the street reads "free legal advice" with an arrow toward this house. Another sign reads "bankruptcy workshop Wednesday 12-3." Sitting next to the legal clinic I hear the stories of people that have arrived for advice. I found myself almost in tears this morning listening to a 69 year old woman share her struggle to get back into her home. I am doing my best to not make this blog become political because I know my readership is diverse, but it is hard when I hear these stories of how the government has let these people down. The Road Home program seems to be a total joke and maybe just a PR campaign as there is story after story of people going through the effort of applying, but then never getting any assistance. Meanwhile insurance companies are paying off mortgages which assists the bank, but then the homeowner is left with a house that they may own but is uninhabitable. And then there is case after case of landlords evicting tenants, or raising rent through the roof so that people can't afford to return home.

I have a lot of respect for the legal team here, mostly legal assistants who have taken time out of their career to come and volunteer. They have sevral pro-bono lawyers working with them. Apart from advising, they will take cases to court with the help of those lawyers. One of them is Bill Quigly who also helps defendants at the annual School of the Americas Watch vigil.

Took a bike ride through the French Quarter, Bourbon Street and Faubourg Marigny. I didn't realize this was all just a few blocks away from where I am staying. New Orleans really is a beautiful city despite all the rebuilding of neighborhoods that still needs to be done. The areas where there is money have recovered quite well. There are still the occasional gutted buildings waiting for revival, but a lot has already returned to pre-Katrina normalcy.

Bikeriding is a great way to get around in this city. The traffic is light in the neighborhood streets, and Bourbon street is mostly foot traffic. We were there early in the evening, but Ted was telling me in a few hours the area will be packed with people all night long.

I am finding a city where I could really enjoy living for a while. I used to wonder why people would want to live where they are below sea level and so vulnerable to a hurricane. Now I think that this is really a city worth protecting.

The work is keeping me busy, and I have been putting together websites that would normally take me a week or two in a couple days. The two sites I have worked on are for Rebuild Green, and New Orleans Home For the Holidays.

Though there is a lot going on right now, with house gutting, legal help, food distribution, and computer labs; the future of Common Ground Collective seems to be a bit uncertain. So Ted and I are talking about what a non-profit web design and computer technology center could look like. We will need to find funding, so if there are any readers looking to support a good cause, let me know.

Critical facts concerning the Gulf Coast’s recovery:

“Hurricane Katrina was the single most catastrophic natural disaster in U.S. history.”
(FEMA, By the Numbers One Year Later)

Physical Area Impacted by Katrina: 90,000 square miles, roughly the size of Great Britain

Number Displaced by Storm: Approximately 1.3 Million

Initial Estimates of Cost to Rebuild New Orleans: $200 billion*

*A widely cited underestimated value, the real cost is probably much higher.

Direct Economic Impact of Katrina in Louisiana Alone: $120 Billion

Federal Funds Allocated to Redeveloping the Gulf Coast: $107 Billion

Proportion of Funds Actually Spent: Less than Half ($44 Billion)

Proportion of Funds Allocated to Levy Reconstruction: 4% ($4.3 Billion)

Proportion Allocated to Mobile Homes: 7% ($7.5 Billion)

Funds Received by the City of New Orleans: $220 Million

One year Later: Number of People Living in Mobile Homes (113,000); Number of Displaced Who Have Not Returned Home Yet (289,000); School Buildings Open in New Orleans (29%); Homes with Electricity (60%); Unemployment Rate Among Evacuees (23%)