I just stumbled upon this blogspot diary while doing a random search through recently created weblogs and I just had to get the word out. It tells the story of one woman, Rhonda Honegger, from Williamsburg, Virginia, who knew she couldn't wait for others to make a difference in the lives of children whose lives were changed forever by Hurricane Katrina.
I am a business woman, wife, & mother of 2. I felt helpless after Hurricane Katrina in part because my sister and her 3 adult children lived in New Orleans and were devastated by the storm. I decided not to sit back and wait for others but to take the initiative to help and created Operation Colonial Friends. Over $9100 in change was collected at 3 Williamsburg schools and along with a grant from Gametime, and the support of many businesses, we were able to build a new playground for Waveland Elementary on 7 January 2006.
Rhonda is chronicling her journey at her blog and it's a must read.
Start with post one and read forward through to today. Learn how Operation Colonial Friends with the help of dozens of volunteers made the difference in the lives of the children in Waveland, Mississippi. You'll read Rhonda's account of the state of recovery for the area. How life goes on even if the recovery is slow. How even those with insurance are still suffering. How happy children were to get a playground, and how sad others were because the playground near them was not being rebuilt.
In one case Rhonda had made hotel reservations through a phone center. When she arrived she discovered that they hotel had been wiped off the map by Katrina. But the next person she saw was the manage of a hotel that did have rooms, and at a discount.
I had a quick conversation with Mayor Longo and asked him what Waveland needed to better help them recover. He told me that they had about 80 senior citizens who had lost their homes and had no way to rebuild. Unlike those citizens who are strong and healthy, they do not have the physical means to even start many of the labor intensive tasks. "So many of them are just sitting in their FEMA trailers waiting to die" he said. "It is just heartbreaking".
This is how things have to get done when some families are still waiting for FEMA trailers. Her story was picked up by the Sun Herald, but it needs to travel further and inspire others to join in and make a difference.