To see pictures of our trip to New Orleans, click here.

Katrina Trip to New Orleans

Twenty-two people from the Dallas Section traveled to New Orleans on October 24, 2006, to view the damage caused to the Big Easy from Hurricane Katrina. A chartered bus and guide led us from the airport to the eastern most parcel of land. It was a beautiful, cloud free, sunny day. We were able to look through the windows of the bus and to our left see the Gulf of Mexico and to the right see the Downtown skyline.

What used to be a 75 mile buffer of wetlands separating New Orleans from the Gulf of Mexico no longer exists. We traveled through St. Bernard, the Upper and Lower Ninth Wards, the Central Business District, the French Quarter, the Warehouse District, the Garden District, Uptown, Old Metairie, the Lakefront, Lakeview, and Lakewood South.

After Hurricane Katrina, there were breaches in three levees, and we saw the neighborhoods affected from each of these breaks. EVERYTHING is damaged... rich, poor, black, white... houses, churches and synagogues, shops, groceries, 7-11's, gas stations. Seeing firsthand the devastation caused by Katrina to this multicultural city was an assault on each of our senses. We drove through destroyed, now lushly overgrown, neighborhoods, with eyes trained on the big orange X on each house – praying that no one died there – with the realization that these neighborhoods have themselves become the graveyard of formerly vivacious New Orleans.

One of the most moving experiences of the day was our visit inside the Orthodox shul, Beth Israel. The old wooden entrance doors with carved Jewish stars had water lines 10 feet high. We entered the building via the small chapel and were immediately overwhelmed by the powerful mold and dust odors of the gutted-to-the-studs building. But holding steadfast at the front of the room was the Aron Kodesh with a tattered velvet curtain that said “Eitz Chaiim” or “Tree of Life.” And surrounding us with a rainbow of filtered light were beautiful stained glass windows (of which all but one survived), which ironically told the story of Exodus.

Two representatives from Women of the Storm briefed us during lunch. Women of the Storm is a non-partisan, non-political alliance of Louisiana women whose families, businesses, and lives were affected by Hurricanes Katrina and/or Rita. Bound by their passion for their communities, Women of the Storm educate the elected leadership of this country about the urgent needs of the areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita for safe and secure neighborhoods and communities. They have successfully lobbied for funding for housing and are currently working to educate the members of Congress on the importance of wet lands restoration and levee repair. The premise behind Women of the Storm is a simple one: You just can’t understand the conditions of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast until you see it for yourself.

Although we invited the Congressional Representatives from the Dallas area who have not visited New Orleans since Katrina to join us on the bus tour, none chose to do so. After our return, we wrote to each of the Representatives from Texas who have not visited and urged them to make the time to see what we saw. What we witnessed must translate to our sharing of our experience. In doing so, the network of the roots and branches of our Trees of Life can touch government and save the receding wetlands of the Gulf Coast.

After the trip the group decided to collect books for young elementary aged children for libraries and schools in New Orleans. The books were collected at our Birthday/Awards Luncheon on January 23. Close to 500 books are being sent to New Orleans.

To see pictures of our trip to New Orleans, click here. If you wish to donate books for New Orleans, please contact the office.