by Simon Park
It has been a month since Katrina. As we begin to overcome the initial shock
and begin to look for ways to regain control of the situation, everything is
in transition. The initial wave of volunteers has gone home; as the hosts of
our villages, churches and others, seek normalcy of their lives they realize
that our villages have some costs (disruption, inconvenience etc.), and the cost-benefit
ratio will change as the relationships continue.
Communication between the villages and especially with the “reservations” has
improved greatly and some volunteers even thanked us for our concern for their
good experience and prompt communication. As we increase the number of villages
and try to balance out the load for the villages, good communications will remain
the top priority. We are already beginning to see some groups planning their
return visits, and asking to stay in the same village. We do not know for sure
whether this attachment is to the village or to the community they served. We
do believe however that the volunteer village is more than just a place to stay;
it promotes the value of community life with other volunteers from across the
country and the close identification with the target community.
Our main challenge for the coming weeks is to make the villages a vibrant
working community, not just the structures.
Village One — Gautier
The last remaining members of The National Capital Presbytery team left today,
October 2. With them the RVs, high energy and the founding members of the village
left. Several smaller teams arrived and organized themselves into a community
with a different personality, and we expect this pattern to continue. We have
made efforts and made progress to maintain closer relationships with the Gautier
Presbyterian Church. Elder Fred Hunt is helping us maintain relationships with
the Gautier-Pascagoula community. PDA volunteers are also helping restore the
Church buildings as time permits. The village has a much smaller capacity after
the RVs pulled out. The Church does not want to fill up the lot with RVs anymore.
Village 2 — D'Iberville
D’Iberville village received Doug McDonald as the Village Manger for the
month of October. He will provide the continuity and stability in the village.
Doug quickly learned that the Village Manager position is not one of general
contractor nor that of a sheriff, but a pastor. He requested that PDA recruit
volunteers who can come for a month or so with no strong need to be out in the
field cleaning houses, but are willing to stay in the Village whole day taking
care of mundane things and answering phone calls. The population in the village
is down for the first week in October but will improve in the following weeks.
We have diverted some volunteers from this village to help establish the village
in Orange grove (Village 3).
Village 3 — Orange Grove (Gulfport)
Orange Grove (Gulfport) is almost ready to function as the command post for all
PDA responses in the Mississippi Gulf area. We are waiting for the sewer line
to be put in for the trailers before moving the office from the Presbytery of
South Alabama to this Village. A team from Wisconsin just arrived to help complete
the Village structure. When complete, this Village will probably be the largest
of all Villages with 41 tents, the entire education building and a 40’ communal
tent. This Village will serve as the base for ministries in East Biloxi, Gulfport
as well as in Long Beach. Spotty cell coverage remains as an issue to address.
Attempts to secure a broadband have not been successful up to now.
Village 4 — Diamond Head
Diamondhead Community Church is closing down its bed-down facilities as of October
15. Any future inquiries will be redirected to the Ferncliff center. A group
of 30 from Parker Colorado, who was scheduled at Village 4, will be housed in
Village 3. While the DCC ceases to be a housing facility, it can help efforts
in finding the needy target population and to mobilize resources.
Village 5 — Bay St. Louis
We have decided to establish a village in the Bay St. Louis Presbyterian Church
grounds. Small but steady numbers of volunteers have been serving the community
for the past several weeks and the presence of the bigger Church is a great encouragement
for the members and the community. (The Co-Chair of the Mission Initiative, Lucimarian
Roberts, is a member of this church). The Vicksburg church has sent a person
to serve as the assistant to the pastor and he will provide leadership as the
Village Manager. All the necessary materials to begin a village of 40 are in
place. We should monitor the situation and increase the capacity as needed. This
site would provide the most challenge to the volunteers since the supporting
infrastructure is almost non-existent. City water is not potable yet and only
two gas stations are open in this town of 50,000. The nearest grocery store is
half an hour away. But there are positive sides to this village. All the remaining
members of the church truly appreciate the help and the Pastor Ted Hanawalt maintains
the steady leadership with sense of humor although he lost his house and most
of the members. We need to pay special attention to this site and begin the life
of the village as a integrated worshipping community. |
