Rebuild New Orleans

In August 2005 Hurricane Katrina swept through the city of New Orleans, flooding over 80% of the city and destroying thousands of homes. Now, three years on, residents are still struggling to rebuild their ravaged city and return to normal life. This project is ideal for volunteers who want to make a difference and improve the ruined lives of the people of New Orleans. It is especially suited to volunteers with special skills such as carpentry or construction, but volunteers without any practical experience are welcome and will play an important role in the rebuilding of homes.

Project Age Limit
Minimum 18 years, maximum decided on potential participants’ health Project Requirements: Volunteer work will be strenuous so a good level of fitness is required.

The Volunteer Project
After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the Federal Emergency Management Agency housed displaced families in mobile homes on the outskirts of the city. These mobile homes were initially a welcome relief to families who were suddenly left homeless. However, after two years of living in temporary housing, the residents are still urgently trying to rebuild their lives and return to the city of New Orleans to start over.

Many of these families cannot afford to have their houses rebuilt by expensive contractors and this is where you come in!

This project focuses on rebuilding houses for the citizens of New Orleans and of the Oak Place Trailer Park in Gonzales, LA, which consists of 50 homes for Hurricane Katrina survivors. The families who live in this community are living in a very rural area about 45 minutes west of New Orleans.

Each homeowner provides the materials to put their home back together (sheetrock, tile, carpet, etc) and we need to provide able-bodied volunteers to build their home. All volunteers will be accompanied onsite by a volunteer contractor who will guide you in the tasks that need to be done and provide comprehensive instructions on how to accomplish them. Volunteers will be involved in all the main stages of rebuilding these homes, including laying tiles, cutting wood, carrying building materials, mixing cement and painting.

Volunteers’ working week will run Monday to Thursday, with Friday being an optional day of work or a day off to tour the city. Work hours each day are usually 9am-4pm, but this may vary depending on weather conditions, etc. Volunteers will not work on the weekends.

Rebuilding is physically demanding, but those that have a heart to learn and a willingness to work can come even if they're not as physically fit as others because there is other work that can be done. We partner with Animal Rescue New Orleans, St. Bernard Community Center and Lower 9th Ward Homeowner's Association as well to get much needed work done in New Orleans.

Please note
Volunteer work will be strenuous so a good level of fitness is required.

Project Support
Throughout your stay in Louisiana you will have the support and guidance of the staff onsite. They will provide you with competent assistance and help you with any questions or advice you may need during your stay.

In addition, you will receive an emergency contact for onsite staff when you arrive and we will provide you with a 24 hour emergency contact number before you depart, so that you can contact one of our UK staff at any time should you need to.

Project Orientation
A detailed orientation will be held on the Sunday evening when you arrive. Topics covered will include:

Accommodation & Meals
During your time in New Orleans, you will stay in our 3- bedroom 2-bathroom volunteer house. The house is located in the beautiful Lower Garden District, just minutes away from St Charles Ave, Loyola and Tulane Universities, Magazine St, downtown New Orleans, great shopping, the French Quarter, Audubon Park and Zoo and within walking distance of the Mardi Gras Parade route.

The volunteer house can accommodate up to 25 volunteers at a time. The house has 10 beds and air mattresses for larger volunteer groups. You will have access to a fully equipped kitchen with a dishwasher, 2 refrigerators, 2 microwaves, coffee maker, toaster, cutlery and dishes. The house is also equipped with Cable TV and free WiFi Internet. The bathrooms are each equipped with a shower/bathtub. The house also contains a washer and dryer for weekly laundry.

There is a park with basketball court directly across the street from the volunteer house. Local shops include 2 grocery stores, a postal service and a local coffee shop.

Meals are not included in the price of the programme. We recommend that you budget £25-£30 for food shopping each week. You are responsible for cooking your own meals and tidying the kitchen after you are finished cooking. Many volunteers like to shop and cook meals together.

If you have any further enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact Alicia Hunt at the Real Gap office on 01892 516 164 or email usa@realgap.co.uk