The Sav-A-Center shown below was where my workplace was...in the curved white tent.
It was a fity-four foot high wall of water that hit the first time. A tidal-wave by any other name. A tsunami,
if it happened elsewhere. People were caught by surprise. It always had been a safe place in past
hurricanes. In two hours, Waveland went from a town of 8,000 to a town with more than 5,000 homeless. Same thing
with Bay St Louis, only in larger homeless numbers.
While we were working here, across the street a Medi-Vac hospital was set up in the other parking lot, so we had
a constant in and out of helicopter traffic.
Cell phones didnt work, no food, no gas, no ATM's, no water, no ice, no pay or other phones, no electricity, no
traffic lights. Virginia State Troopers, National Guard, and Border Patrol agents provided protection for us,
They also did a terrific job with crowd control.
This was just like an occupation by military forces. Uniforms everywhere. Jeeps patrolled and roadblocks
were set up where there was a break in the razor or concertina wire barricades. Gunshots in the night from guards
shooting packs of dogs that had gone wild and were hungry added to the feeling of being in a war zone.
I never knew what happened to the donations given to the Red Cross.
Until now.
We helped!
The money helped.
It bought the food, water, clothing, baby formula, ice, and funded the immediate distribution of hand-written checks
given out. Our group gave out about a million dollars a day.
Living with all this chaos was incredibly stressful. Like a Mad Max movie that never ends. Some volunteers
had to leave. The local folks from here cannot leave--they live here. Blank stares of disbelief...glassy, glossy
eyes. I feel a little guilty because I CAN go home...I still have all my "stuff". I really appreciate with new
eyes and different mind how lucky I am to have my life waiting for me at the other end of a plane trip.
Wow! I look all around me everyday and wonder if maybe this isnt beyond even the healing reach of Prayer.
Red Cross gave out flu and tetanus and hepatitus injections--free. Absolutely amazing, the extent and scope
of the outreach effort. Red Cross worked with many church and other groups in a generously cooperative manner with
all kinds of assistance. I am so proud to have served in this way.
