"It's a God Thing...Helping to Rebuild New Orleans"

The following article appeared in the February 2008 issue of Charity Alive written by S. Maryanne Ruzzo.

How does one put into words what the experience was like for 33 people who volunteered in New Orleans? It’s not easy.

The January trip was the third sponsored by the Sisters of Charity Federation, planned by vocation directors from the Sisters of Charity of Halifax, Cincinnati, Nazareth, Greensburg, New Jersey and the Sisters of Saint Martha. While there we also connected with the Daughters of Charity.

Young people from two Canadian provinces and seven States came together to build community, share faith and help others in need. The goal of the trip focused on sharing the charity charism with young people. We couldn’t have been more successful!

One group insulated and installed dry wall in a two-story home. In return, the family fed them so they didn’t have to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day! The volunteers were in awe of the hospitality, faith and hope of this family who lost so much.We landscaped and we cleaned out a family business that hadn’t been entered since the storm two and a half years ago. We scraped and painted a wrought iron fence and we entertained at a nursing home. We made sandwiches and served them to over 150 people who’d recently moved from a tent city to temporarily living in a hotel.

One of the most powerful experiences was attending a dinner sponsored by the Episcopalian church. We sat side by side with homeless people and shared the meal. Wouldn’t Saint Vincent de Paul be right there?
What touched the young people most, were the stories of the people we met. What touched the Sisters most was how the young people shared their experience and applied their faith at each evening’s prayer. While we shared the spirit of Saints Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac and celebrated the feast of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, these young people were talking about seeing the face of God in the poor and in those around them.

Volunteers spoke about service, community building, sacred space and being transformed. One volunteer, from New Orleans, thanked the group for helping her love her home city again. In return, another thanked her for allowing her to realize that where the levees broke was not a tourist spot, but sacred and holy ground.
The depth at which these young people shared was incredible and it was evident the spirits of Vincent, Louise and Elizabeth couldn’t have been more present.

We celebrated the feast of Epiphany with a Trumpet liturgy, had one last shared prayer and then headed into the French Quarter for our last moments together as a group. We donned t-shirts that said, “It’s a God Thing…Helping to rebuild New Orleans”.

Click here to read volunteer testimonials from the young people who visited New Orleans.