It was five years ago that I watched my TV screen in horror as the lives of thousands of families were dismantled by Hurricane Katrina. I still cannot know what it is like to have my safe evacuation thwarted by rotting plants, dead neighbors, bedroom doors, live electric wires, water toxified by human excrement, unseen plumbing, glass, oil, and air clouded by smoke. Such scenes were sanitized when viewed from a distance and from the comfort of my own home.
It gets no easier, five years after the event, to imagine how Gulf Coast residents feel today when they look back on the death of friends and loved ones, the loss of beloved pets, property, and jobs. When I watched elderly holdouts endure days of horror because they would not leave their animal companions behind, I turned away and prayed for their comfort. I hope those same pets offer comfort today as this anniversary will produce many sad memories.
During any given day we plan and dream, especially now as teachers and children prepare for another school year. Five years later, when too many families still have no replacement home, I’m left to pray that God will keep us aware of their needs, providing the energy and resources necessary to finish work so vital to their sense of worth and hope for a happy future.
Five years later we are reminded that we must all take responsibility for our ourselves as best we can, for enormous emergency situations can indeed overcome governmental agency responses. As spread out as most of our family members are, we will be best served if we have a communication plan and enough goods on hand to be able to take care of ourselves for three to five days.
We are also reminded that Americans are the most generous people on the planet and when tragedy strikes we will move in response to our love of humanity and personal convictions, by leaving the comfort of our homes to help rebuild, and donating food, clothing, and money. It is remarkable that teams of volunteers will again descend on the Gulf Coast area, marking this sad anniversary by offering another big push to the ongoing efforts to rebuild homes.
There are so many needs around the world; so much suffering the knowledge can be paralyzing, but it’s important, I think, to choose a project and give it your support. We cannot possibly do it all, but we can educate ourselves about various needs and throw our support in a direction we care about.
I’d begin by looking up into the heavens or joining a reputable group that offers money, human resources and education. As a member of Soroptimist International, we focus great effort on educating people about human trafficking, which is a tragic and enormous problem here in the U.S. as well as around the world. Likewise, a portion of the donations my family makes to our church are used for disaster relief and ongoing work to train indigenous people in ways they can better provide for themselves.
The love of God is spoken in many ways.
Reach Joan Bay Klope, faithfulliving@hotmail.com.
