Residents help out disaster victims
Residents help out disaster victims
Volunteers report on situation in Mississippi
RITZVILLE — While helping rebuild homes in Pass Christian, Miss., it was just as important for relief workers to set down their tools and listen.
That was the message given to some of the 17 volunteers from the Menno Mennonite Church who spent a week in January helping victims of Hurricane Katrina as part of the Mennonite Disaster Service.
"One of the first things they told us is, 'If these people want to talk, you put down your hammer and you talk to them,'" said Dennis Swinger, Jr., or JR. "(The coordinator said,) 'They've got stories to tell and they need to tell someone. You guys are like I am, you're thinking if you're not working, you're not worth much, but this is as much of your work here that you're doing, is listening to these people's stories.'"
From Jan. 9 through Jan. 13, the group worked to rebuild homes in the Pass Christian area, staying in dormitories on the site of a summer choir camp that were still being renovated, primarily working on rooftops and drywalling.
Several members gathered Tuesday morning to share their experiences in Mississippi. The group also recently delivered a presentation about the experience at their church.
"You don't grasp the enormity of the disaster on TV," said local coordinator Gene Claassen.
"You see how big the whole thing is, you just can't imagine," agreed Dorothy Franz, Swinger's grandmother, noting she grew up in Kansas, where tornadoes would often cut a path. "But this was just, as far as you could see, it was all destroyed."
Franz found it difficult to know she was very comfortable at home, and the people she was helping had nothing. Many of the victims lived in trailers in their yards, she said, and had to see their ruined possessions every day.
Reed Meyer said most of the pictures he saw on television were of New Orleans, which primarily experienced flooding. Of Pass Christian, he said, "This was just wiped out, leveled."
The area suffered from storm, water and wind damage, instead of just flooding, said Gene's son, Michael Claassen.
"Even though we were there for a week, in the middle of it all, taking it in and trying to grasp it for ourselves, we got to come home to our fine, warm, comfortable homes," Brent Bouwman said. "Everything is still standing, everything is still here and solid, and our life goes on as normal. They're still dealing with it. How can they do that from day to day, mentally cope with a disaster that's around them and that they're having to deal with on a day-to-day basis for long term?"
Swinger said he didn't know of anybody who wasn't affected by the week.
"To get a bunch of us to admit that we're emotional about something is saying a lot," Swinger said.
Many people were not able to deal with the level of destruction, Gene Claassen said.
"(Helping them) actually provided a little bit of a spark for them, got them a little bit enthused about cleaning up their own mess and working on it again," he said. "Gave them a little bit of hope."
Bouwman said he found it encouraging to see the spirit of the people who were dealing with the disaster, and were still trying to come back from it.
Swinger said the group plans to return, probably at the same time next year, and Gene Claassen said more people will go then.
Gene also stressed that if given the chance to volunteer and help someone out, those interested should try out the opportunity, even if it's outside their comfort zone.
"The rewards are much greater coming back than what you'll ever give," he said, noting many church groups are participating in efforts to provide aid. Bouwman took up the message, encouraging financial assistance from those people who want to help out but fear they lack the physical ability.
"I knew going down that I wasn't going to remember how much we sweat, how hard we worked and how tired we got," Michael Claassen said. "We'd always remember who we met, the stories … It's rewarding for yourself, but it's more rewarding for them to see somebody who's come all the way from like Washington to help them."
At the age of 84, coordinators weren't sure where to put Franz at first, she said. She started out cutting and preparing apples for apple crisp, and by the end she was working in the kitchen, cleaning and preparing the majority of the meals for the 50 to 80 volunteers at the time.
Franz spent most of her time in the kitchen, but got to ride with the coordinator one day to see what everybody else was doing.
"It was so good to see all of our guys come in and eat," she said. "It was always so nice to see everybody."
"What we heard was that at the end of the week, the whole kitchen was cleaner than when we got there," Michael Claassen said. "She was behind the ovens cleaning where it had never been cleaned in years."
"You'd get back from your job site and you're dragging," Swinger echoed with a grin. "And here's Grandma, still behind, scrubbing … It kind of sets the bar a little bit higher."
"I'm sure glad there was a spot in the kitchen for me," Franz said. "I don't know if they had to make it for me or what, but I sure appreciated it."
"The amazing thing about everybody that went down there is that we were earning absolutely nothing," Gene Claassen said with a chuckle, "but we were working harder than we ever would have at home."
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