This one went on Thurs.
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Dear family and friends,
My last email ended with Monday's activities. This is an update since then.
Tuesday, we found another refugee camp 20 miles outside town. They were ok, but needed much. They were housing about 100 in primitive shelters and were expecting another 50 by today. A church is helping them out. We gave what we had with us and plan to revisit today. We also heard about another larger camp 25 miles from here and will go there today.
Tuesday night, Todd loaded a bus with 60 more folks to go to Colorado. All have sponsors, jobs and one year of free housing waiting for them. The Colorado staff went with them, but promised to return in two weeks for more loads. Remember, this program is all sponsored by private citizens. Amazing!
Tuesday day, Karen and I drove to Lafayette and met with Johnny ----, another SFA member. He showed us the big Red Cross show down there. Johnny needed a hundred book bags with school supplies. We brought them with us and delivered them to a facility providing temporary (they hope) schooling for 550 kids from New Orleans. We also visited the huge pet shelter in the old University of Louisiana Dome. These are pets that are owned by people in shelters. It is manned by volunteers. Many are 4-H age. They had signs everywhere asking for $. We left them a donation for pet food.
There is plenty of work to do...lots more people are still being evacuated. There are at least 51 shelters in this immediate area now. The Red Cross services about 30-35 of them. They do not provide supplies to shelters/camps they don't set up. And you cannot walk into their shelters and get food. You must be staying there.
We have been finding people in camps outside town...We now know about 7 of them.
We ran out of school supplies and infant clothing and have been buying more to give away in the shelters.
Today we drove by a country church with a sign "Housing 84 evacuees, can you help." We stopped, found the asst pastor and told him we were there to help and asked what his biggest need is. He said he needed meat to feed everyone tonight. He has a car, so we gave him $200 and our phone # in case he needs help tomorrow. We also explained where he might get food for the people he is housing. I asked him where the pastor was. He replied that he had taken some extra clothing they had to Baton Rouge (125-150 miles away) to another church, housing folks.
Thank God for these extra shelters and camps because I have heard over and over that the Red Cross has been telling folks their shelters are full.
Also yesterday, Kathy found a family of 10 in a van with no gas. She spoke with them. Found out they just got to town...having heard there is shelter here. They want to go to Georgia to stay with relatives. Kathy gave them $250 for gas and food and they gratefully left to drive to Georgia. We have had numerous incidents like that. I finally realized that Alexandria is just about one tank of gas out of New Orleans.
Many other incidents yesterday, a blanket here, $20 there and so on. At 2030 last night Kathy left to pick up a grandmother at the hospital and reunite her with her family in a shelter.
Karen and I stopped for a coffee mid morning and met a couple from New Orleans. They were using two computers in the coffee shop. The women spoke to Karen non-stop for 20 minutes. We tried to determine if they needed help. They assured us they were ok. The man told me he just got a job offer in Houston and their families are helping them because their home in NO is still underwater. On the way out I told Karen she gave that women exactly what she needed...a friendly ear.
Yesterday afternoon, Karen was buying supplies in a store. As she came out, three women walked over to our truck, read the sign and thanked us both profusely for helping. All three lost it all in New Orleans and were staying in one of their friend's homes. These were older ladies...as we left, one hugged Karen and gave her $20. Karen told her I cannot take this. The women (crying) said please take it and give it to some one in a shelter.
Are Americans unbelievable or what.
The $10,000 I asked for a few days ago is covered. Special Operations Association is sending Bob $3,000. John ---, a friend from Vietnam, sent $2,000 overnight. John was with B/1/69 Armor, the unit that reinforced my A Team during the battle of Ben Het. We met again some 10 years ago at a campground in the Florida Keys. Another $985 came to Bob yesterday, and $375 to us... and I know more is on the way. Thank you.
We expect another Green Beret to join us this weekend and yet another SFA member coming with a group of up to 8 next week. Both are bringing large loads of supplies.
The weather emergency is over. The human devastation is not. Rescues and evacuations continue. Refugees/evacuees continue to come out in large numbers. While in Lafayette, Johnny also took me to the "new" U of LA Dome and explained they are housing 15,000 with a three day stay limit. They are still getting lots of folks in and shipping all of them out.
We are fine. Now that we have all of the goodies out of our camper, it seems much larger. I finally figured out the problem with the A/C unit last night. Nights have been OK but 96 degrees during the day in this humidity got it just too hot when we came back every evening.
I heard complaints about price gouging fuel prices on the radio yesterday. We have not seen it. I filled up the truck yesterday afternoon with diesel fuel for 2.49 per gallon.
Luv ya'all!
Ya'heah?
Mike |
