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Articles:
Introduction
The most recent Plenty run to the Gulf included a video crew from Village Media who conducted interviews with survivors, volunteers and staff for some of the grassroots relief organizations. There were thousands of young college students on their spring break “mucking out” houses, fixing roofs, distributing food, helping people put their lives back together. The most commonly repeated phrase was “Seven months later, it still looks like a war zone.” Plenty is gearing up for the next phase of our support. Donations are more scarce now that this disaster has dropped out of the headlines, but the need is just as great if not greater. People in Biloxi, Mississippi still need food and other basics. Common Ground volunteers getting ready to clean the MLK school they want opened. For more about what’s happening in the Gulf, visit New Orleans Voices for Peace, read Plenty's Katrina Relief Reports and see the Katrina links page. The all volunteer “Made With Love Cafe & Grill” operated by Emergency Communities in St. Bernard Parish is now serving over 1300 meals per day free to all comers. (photo by Doug Stevenson) Pacific Domes of Portland, OR, donated ten 16 foot diameter domes to Plenty to be used as temporary housing for Native American families who had lost their homes in the Gulf region. The one pictured above is being used by a family in Dulac, LA. On March 16 neighborhood residents of the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, along with a clean-up crew of volunteers from the Common Ground organization, protested the closing of the Martin Luther King Middle School. They won the day. The school has been reopened.
Onaway Trust Contributes to Hurrican Stan Relief
Village Model Food and Nutrition Program (VMFNP), Guatemala
Belize School Gardens Program Update
Seven Months Later Katrina Relief Still Urgently Needed
My return trip to Liberia, The War is Over!
Kids To The Country Spring Program
Rhino Katrina Rebuilding Fund
Quotes from volunteers and donors:
Sakura Kone, media coordinator for Common Ground Relief:
"We’re here doing the government’s work with no government support. Not one nickel comes from the government. We do it because it’s the right thing to do, and we get our satisfaction from the community, from the residents. We have some very intelligent and caring people in America. This is an example of that here."
Isabelle Troadec, volunteer, Project Hope, which is part of Common Ground Relief:
"Fundamentally this is not an isolated incident. This kind of thing has been happening for a long long time. The hurricane just made it very visible. The type of dynamics we’re seeing and we’re trying to work with are in any urban area in this country—where there’s gentrification, different corporate interests trying to come in and wipe out poor communities, or put oil refineries or aluminum plants in poor communities. It’s really good that it’s provided an opportunity to really educate people. To really motivate people to act.
I feel like the larger problem in our society is that things have gotten so big that our voice isn’t heard in the government…we wanted direct representation so we wanted this project to be small so we could have we could have direct representation of what the community needs. All the programs we have here are free: a propane exchange service, grocery delivery for people over 60, disabled and those without transportation. Our goal is to turn Hope over to the community. We just want to plant seeds and empower people.
Jessica Bailey, Howard University student volunteer:
When we get back we’re trying to figure out ways to resuscitate our community and let them know that this is still a problem. We got down here and a lot of us, we knew it was bad, but it’s been six months and why can I still see the inside of these people’s houses? We have our vow to go back to school and tell everybody it’s still a problem…we still need to come down here and help."
Eleanor Jones, A Walk in the Park Distribution Center, Pass Christian, MS:
"People desperately need food. People are living in tents, under tarps. People need food. People need water. People need shelter. People need clothing. I think people are in need just as much as they were the day after the storm."
Cindy Sheehan, Goldstar Mother (her son was killed in Iraq):
"My son gave everything for other people, ultimately dying for his buddies. That’s what this world needs. Everybody needs to care about something and not only care about it, but be willing to go out of their comfort zone to make the world a better place and everybody should be doing that on a daily basis, not thinking how am I going to make myself more comfortable, but how can I make somebody else more comfortable. I have enough…how can I make somebody else’s life better by an action that I do. I’ve just gotten all my hope back for humanity and in the end I know that the peace movement and the social justice movement will prevail because it’s the right thing."
Donor Linda Myers, The Wilson School:
I just gave a short presentation about Plenty to our 7th & 8th graders. They are excited to find an organization where they know the money they send will be spent appropriately. They would very much like to develop a relationship with the school where the money goes. They'd love to be able to write to the kids there or email if they have computers. They are already planning another fundraiser so they do more to help. I've attached a photo we just took with the children and the check if you'd like to print it out and pass it along to the school. (That's me in the back row!)
Love to you all,
Linda
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