Kcompy
Registered: October 2007
City/Town/Province: Glendale
Posts: 1
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My name is Kerri Compton and I am from Glendale, Arizona. A group of 18 young students and I traveled to Lake Charles, Louisiana and help to clean up the community since being devastated by Hurricane Rita in 2005. I was excited for the trip but was not sure just what to expect. After nine hours of traveling, we finally arrived in Lake Charles. We took a “tour” of the area and chose what areas needed clean up. Thankfully, we were accompanied by the Center for Aging and they aided us in making a decision.
Our first project we chose was the clean up of an open field full of debris that was once a lively neighborhood with ranches and homes. We got our boots and gloves on and started walking throughout the pasture. We found some amazing and eye opening things to say the least. We picked up bits and pieces of people houses that they used to call their homes. There were jars of moldy foods, bibles, pictures, books and diaries. We moved everything from whole roofs to large bookcases. The most memorable thing for me was a small baby doll we found that looked merely like a clump of mud. It made me realize that these were people's actual memorabilia that they would never be able to get back. We piled all the debris piles organized by the type of material it was. Later that week a company was to come and pick it up for recycling and/or trash. This whole process took a few days but was motivating when we were finished. It was also very emotional for me as it made me value my life and how lucky I am to have a place that I can call “home”. There was a point in the day where I just stood there and knew that this is exactly where I wanted to be.
Feeling motivated, we decided to take on one more project. We went to Camp Wi-Ta-Wentin, a summer camp for young children. It was nearly forty percent devastated by the storm. We moved large trees and debris and put them in piles. We also helped to clean out leaves and bushes out of the cabins that had been blown in there. Some debris was then burned to minimize the waste and some waiting for recycling. After we were done, the camp counselors and owners gave a long speech about their experience with the storm and how thankful they were that we were there. As their tears fell, so did ours. I have no doubt that I will return there sometime in the near future.
That week was quite possibly the best week of my life. I know that seems like a rather lofty statement considering I am 20 and have 1,050 other weeks I could compare this one with. But when you think about all that was accomplished in seven days, it is impossible to equate that with anything else I have ever been a part of. Although I may never know exactly how much I actually helped that community, there are some things, however, that give me brief glimpses at the true impact of my work: The heartfelt smile that spread across Ms. Julie’s face when we pulled up to the Center for Aging, seeing my fellow young peers carry canoes to the water at Camp Wi-Ta-Wentin, and the overwhelming amount of "thank you's" we get anytime someone knows or finds out who we are and why we were there in Lake Charles. Our work, in no way, went unnoticed. It was nothing that I had expected and more than I could have asked for. Not only did our work there clean up an environmentally devastated area, but it opened my eyes to the need for volunteering. Since I have been back, I regularly volunteer my time for anything and everything needed. I pick up trash on my morning runs and help build homes for families in need. I strongly encourage my peers to engage themselves in their communities to better the lives of others. I would not trade that experience for the world.
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