Throwing Sand Bags at Ike

Friday morning we were all expecting a pretty quiet day. We were all sitting around watching a movie when all of a sudden one of the other volunteers here at Camp Hope flew into the room and asked us who wanted to throw sand bags. We were like "Why? What's going on?" He told us the levees were getting over topped by the storm surge from Hurricane Ike and they needed help. We had 5 minutes to get ready and get going.

When we got there we drove out to where the water was spilling over. It was windy and muddy and for a while we helped throw sand bags on the levees. But they needed more help further back with palletizing sand bags. So we went and helped unload huge trucks full of sand bags and stack them on pallets. It was tough work. The sand bags were heavy and when we were working the pace was grueling. In the afternoon we helped fill the bags with sand. By the end of the day we were sweaty, sore, and filthy but for a while it felt like we were saving the world. We were on the front line doing battle with mother nature.

Shuffle Team Earth 2 - Iowa Disaster Response

My shuffle team was Earth 2 - even though this project ended a few weeks ago, I wanted to share a little about my experiences. During my shuffle round I was sent on disaster to the town of Oakville, Iowa. Oakville is a little town that is known to make some of the best hog feed in the country. It was built on a flood plain right off of the Iowa River. The levee broke due to the increase of water in early July, causing the whole entire town to be flooded with at least four feet of water. The town literally had a channel of water flowing through it. When you first drive to the town you can see how the river broke through the town because of the displaced homes and the houses split in two. The community of Oakville is very small and is made up of families that have lived there for generations. Because Oakville is on a flood plain no one had insurance for the disaster. Volunteers from all over came and helped get the town ready to rebuild. Our team arrived in late July and we stayed until the middle of August. The mission was to muck and gut as many houses as possible so the town could start getting ready to rebuild the following spring.

The disaster was really tough. When they ask you in the NCCC interview if you can be flexible and work in strenuous conditions, they are talking about disasters like this. The one I experienced was very intense work. We took apart houses. To take apart a house it takes a lot of work and problem solving skills. To gut a house is not as easy as you think. We had to pick up things that were destroyed by the flood. Sometimes we had no idea what we were picking up because they were so unrecognizable. Rule number one in gutting a house is never open the refrigerator. If you do, expect to smell the worst thing ever. One of my teammates was curious and did not heed this advice so he opened two of them and each time resulted in a very very very bad smell. One time we called in some help to lift them out of a basement and some Amish men came and helped us. They worked so hard it made us look bad. They did everything bare handed without masks and boots. They tore off the door, took all the spoiled food out, and then tossed the freezer on the pile in a matter of minutes. After that we all felt a little flustered but we were so grateful that they were there. The most disgusting aspect of the disaster was the basement. The basement was filled with frogs, crawfish, water bugs and the biggest salamanders you have ever seen. On top of deconstruction we also saved tons of wildlife in the basement in between shoveling all the slop. The basements smelled bad; it was the hardest work and it kept on filling with water. But it was by far some of the most important work we did. When we were cleaning out basements we had to wear the TYVEK suit with booties and a hood.

The hours were long, the work sometimes was impossible, but it is some of the most rewarding work you can do. The people in the town were so nice to us and touched all our hearts. One such family was Lyn and Teresa, a nice couple who had their house destroyed. They were so nice and kept on finding us in the town to make sure we were all right. My teammate Noel and I took apart their bathroom and they asked us to keep a huge mirror, the toilet, sink, and the tub. It was a lot of extra work to keep these pieces intact but worth the price because it made them so happy that something could be salvaged. It is really hard to explain the atmosphere of a disaster because it's such a physical and emotional experience, but all you can do is give your all. The two teams that were on disaster did an amazing job. We worked really hard, had a great attitude, and all were always willing to help each other get things done. We left everything on the table and let the community touch our lives.

~Kate

The Week of Waiting

It's been an interesting week. We all got back from our week of vacation on Monday rested and eager to get back to work. Unfortunately, hurricanes have a way of messing up plans. Hurricane Gustav was hitting Louisiana the day I got back to Denver. We were all here holding our breath hopping that it wouldn't be another Katrina. Thankfully New Orleans was mostly spared. Still we couldn't go back right away. There was still no water or electricity. Our departure was delayed for a day. Then it was delayed again another two days. Today we heard that we wouldn't be leaving until Monday. Then just, an hour ago, I found out we're packing up and hitting the road tomorrow. It's tough not knowing what's going on. We're still not sure what we are going to be doing once we get there. With two more storms on the way things are even more unpredictable. Sometimes that's just how it is in AmeriCorps. You have to be flexable.

Despite the delays and the uncertainty we've been keeping busy. Yesterday we worked at The Food Bank of the Rockies packaging meals for families and senior citizens. Today we helped set up for the 21st annual Colorodo AIDS walk and 5k run. It was fun. We helped set up the stage. I got to live my dreams of being a roadie and play with 400 lb. speakers.


I've got to go pack and prepare. Lots to do!


~Sam

The U.S. Air Force Academy

It was a pretty typical transition week. We had a debrief and brief. We had a tool check in and room inspections. Friday however was exciting. Instead of our usual transition week activities we went to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. We woke up at the crack of dawn and drove up into the foothills of the rockies. It's a beautiful sprawling campus dotted with pine trees. We spent the morning doing the confidence course. It's basicly a big wooden obsacle course. There were walls to climb over, logs to balance on and ropes to swing on. It was really fun. Like a jungle gym for grown ups. :)

In the afternoon we did the teamwork training course. It was a series of puzzles that you had to solve together. One involved building a bridge to get a barrel across a river. Another had us climbing over two 5ft fences without touching them. It was neat becuase they weren't just imaginary puzzles on paper they actually had fences and barrels that we physically interacted with to solve the problems.

By the end of the day we were worn out but we were stronger physically, mentally and together as a team.

~Sam

Shuffle Round - Earth 3

Third round, which we just finished, was shuffle round. This means we went on spike with a new team and a new team leader. Amanda, Stacy, Maria and I were shuffled to Earth 3. It was really fun, so I wanted to share a little about our experiences.

We had a great project. We worked with Habitat for Humanity in Lafayette, LA. Right away they had us doing construction. We spent the first few weeks putting up insulation and drywall. Insulating a house is not very fun. It's itchy and harmful if you breathe it, so we had to wear dust masks, but it makes the house more energy efficient. Dry walling was better. It took us a while to figure out how to do it but once we did I really enjoyed it. We also installed flooring, cabinets, doors and trim.

Probably the best part was the people. The area where we lived is known as the most "cajun" place in the country. People were so friendly and they were constantly cooking us food. Shrimp etouffee, gumbo, crab, jambalaya. It was delicious. One of the future homeowners would often come and work with us and whenever she did she brought a gigantic watermelon. We danced to Louisiana zydeco music and we heard great cajun jokes. The people, despite all their hardships, really manage to enjoy life to the fullest.

-Sam

Back to Denver

On Thursday morning the team left our lowernine.org house to head back to Denver. We stayed in Terrell, TX our first night and ate dinner at Applebees. It was great. We left the following morning at 8am for Salina, Kansas. Tonight we’re staying at a Days Inn. For dinner tonight we were going to treat ourselves to Red Lobster, because we thought we had enough money with our AmeriCorps budget (we saved money making our own lunches on the cheap). But, they seated us, we looked at the menu, and saw that this restaurant was not for our AmeriCorps budget. So we left and went to Chili’s. It was great! Tomorrow we will be in Denver in the afternoon.

Katie snags lunch out of the back of the van.

I’m excited to get back to Denver, but I will miss this project. This round went well. I worked at Willie’s house for the whole round. I was a site supervisor of volunteers from New York City and for Summer of Service AmeriCorps members. We built a shed and worked on the inside of the house to re-frame and re-floor the rotten wood from the storm. We were able to finish the framing before I left for Denver. Overall, the spike was good. I got to meet some great volunteers at lowernine.org who I hung out with the entire time.

-Rob