Orientation

Orientation

In this area, Biloxi area: 64,000 homes destroyed. An additional 78,000 uninhabitable. The latter is the focus.

Tonight we attended the orientation for our week of work. The Camp Victor facility is a former garment factory. The Lutheran Disaster Response leased the facility and volunteers have sectioned off the large warehouse type facility into several large bunk areas, gender divided. A large cafeteria and kitchen serve as an eating and gathering area. The larger part of the facility serves as storage room for tools, equipment, building supplies, and food. The showers and air conditioning earn Camp Victor the label as the Club Med of relief agencies. It certainly is upscale compared to the tent and trailer facility that we visited in Biloxi today. There are 260 volunteers working with us this week.

Relief agencies have determined specific areas to give their attention to. Camp Victor concentrates in the area of Pascagoula. Currently, the list is down to 700 families that have needs for housing attention. It is interesting to hear that insurance companies have replaced boats, motorcycles, and cars damaged by the storm, but few have received compensation for their homes. So we will visit homes with severe storm damage that are inhabited but they may have a fairly new car sitting in the driveway. Labor costs for repairs have skyrocketed here and even many middle class families depend on volunteer help for recovery.

Stories with tears have become common. Even after 30 months, there are still raw nerves and part of our role here is to listen. A former office manager of Christus Victor, now administration director of Camp Victor, shared her story of those fateful days. She and a few others weathered out the storm at the church because, as she shared, someone had to be here for others. As the storm abated, the church, relatively unscathed due to its location, served as a safe house for the community. As they relied on the few cell phones that worked, supply lines developed that were able to sneak around National Guard checkpoints to get goods to the church. Medical (doctors and nurses) who also scooted around the check points began to arrive from neighboring states but they were not allowed to assist pending approval by the Red Cross which took 3 weeks for approval. Meanwhile, locals who had survived made their way to Christus Victor, animals in tow. The church set up 3 rooms for animals. “We set up one room for cats, one for dogs, and one for birds, although after 3 days, I was ready to let the cats into the bird room.”

Within weeks, volunteers began to arrive and the church multipurpose room sheltered 220 volunteers who spent each day removing the storm surge muck from homes in 100 degree heat. After the day of work they retuned to Christus Victor to eat, sleep and stand in line for the one shower. We met several who had that experience, those very difficult times, and were now returning to give service again, again, and again. The Georgia Tech engineers, members of a Lutheran Church in Peachtree City Georgia, took us into their fold. We will work with them. Some of them were here that first month and this is their fourth time here.

Barb and I, tonight, are uneasy yet excited in anticipation of tomorrow. To walk into someone else’s home, and say we are here to help, given the low level of skill level we have, is overwhelming. Yet, I keep remembering a comment that Marvin made to me today. “How did you get through this?” I asked. “You,” he said. “You volunteers. We couldn’t have made this progress without your help. You and the illegal workers from Mexico. Both of you have been a God send.”
As we left the facility tonight we were introduced to FEMA. She is a one eyed cat that lives in the building. She is in charge of the rodent control department and is the resident that has been here the longest. When Victor moved into the building, the cat, with infected eye was spotted. She was named FEMA because she is half blind, on first encounter ran away, she was then missing for a couple of weeks, when found she appeared helpless and confused, and was finally saved by a faith based organization.