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Photographer Lee Celano shoots Lower Ninth Ward homeowner portraits for us!
It's hard to tell from the resolution on our newsletter, but the photo below and that at right are world class professional images taken by our friend and supporter, photojournalist Lee Celano. Over the next few months, Lee will be continuing his past four years' work documenting New Orleans' recovery from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and will also be shooting a series of portraits of lowernine.org's homeowners. Miss Eula Wilson, pictured below, was one of our first homeowners moved back to the Ward, and was kind enough to sit for the first in our series of portraits.
You can visit Lee online for more about his work here.
Our volunteer house got a facelift this summer!
Yes, we do spend most of our time working on other people's houses! But this summer we managed to squeeze in a little work on our volunteer house doing some extra weatherization, some basic repairs, and give the house a snazzy new paint job. Our friend Steve Keith (known around the neighborhood as Mr. Mardi Gras) who drops by regularly to say hello wants you to know "every time I look at that house, it just makes me smile."
We thank you for your efforts thus far and for your continued support. Please visit us soon - you know where to find us!
lowernine.org
6018 el dorado street
new orleans, la 70117
504.278.1240
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lowernine.org has been home to volunteers from across the country and around the world since we started this great project. This fall, lowernine.org had with us a special group from the renowned national organization Volunteers for Peace. Founded in 1982, VFP's goal is to work toward a more peaceful world through the promotion of International Voluntary Service (IVS) projects, and the exchange of volunteers. Through their international alliances, VFP's projects provide intercultural education through community service offering placement in over 3000 IVS projects in more than 100 countries each year, including over 40 in the USA. At each project, volunteers from diverse backgrounds, typically from four or more countries, work and live together like a family. The sharing of everyday life, both with the local community and among the international volunteers, is an integral part of the learning and serving experience. Most projects are open to volunteers with any type of background and do not require any specific professional or language skills.
It was a pleasure to work with VFP, and we look forward to future individuals and groups! |
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The Villere Farm |
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Things are growing right along! Sweet potatoes, okra and eggplant fill the rows of the Villere Farm, lowernine.org's first urban farming project, now entering the Fall growing season. Our recent days have been full of rain and new plantings. Chris Ballard, a resident who lives across from the Villere Farm, has been a very active part of the work and progress of the Villere Farm.
We've spent the last few weeks tilling under the cover crop and seeding new fall vegetables. The fall rain keeps coming and the little ones are responding with great growth and health. Our harvests are only becoming more plentiful.
The okra is holding strong and producing vigorously and is Miss Mary Jones' favorite ingredient in her fabulous gumbo! As for the rest of the lowernine.org Garden Project, we're watching the growth of Miss Pittman's community garden space become more and more active with the participation of her neighbors. In the next week we'll be assisting Miss Pittman in planting the beds with a fall crop of carrots, greens, etc., and building a much needed shade and shelter in the front of the garden space. This shelter will prove most valuable in the spring and summer months as relief from the sun for the elderly residents who help work and maintain the raised beds.
Keep updated on the lowernine.org Garden Project via our website:
lowernine.org/Garden.html
and our Blog at
http://eggplantbrigade.blogspot.com/
Keep New Orleans on your mind. We're growing home!
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| Special Thanks |
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lowernine.org recently received a $10,000 donation from the Starbucks Coast Fund and wants to say thank you very much for the support!
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A Fall Update
from executive director
Rick Prose |
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On August 29th, the city of New Orleans, along with other Gulf Coast communities, observed the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall and reflected upon the subsequent tragedy and hardship that we've been living with since that fateful day. This year's remembrance was decidedly low-key compared to those of the past four years - no presidential visit, no huge rallies, I even encountered people that day who, when asked the question "What day is this?" couldn't come up with anything to say other than "Saturday?"
Our city will never be the same, that's something upon which everyone seems to agree. And, that's a good thing, in a lot of ways. New Orleans had plenty of problems before Katrina and now that we're in the process of rebuilding the city, those of us involved have every intention of rebuilding it better - smarter, greener, safer. In our case, we are constantly aware of the fact that the problems of the Lower Ninth Ward didn't begin with Katrina, to a large extent they began with Hurricane Betsy 40 years before. We are also aware that the neighborhood may never recover to its pre-storm population, at least not for many, many years to come. This forces us to try and re-conceive the community in ways that are both challenging and exciting, for residents and volunteers alike.
To those of you who have supported our efforts over the past two years, I want to say "thank you" and assure you that through your donations you are doing more than helping us rebuild homes - we have truly become a part of this community and through programs such as our urban farming initiative and annual summer camp, we are making ever-greater contributions to the resurrection of this historic neighborhood.
In service,
Rick Prose
executive director
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| Our Sponsors |
UW for the Greater New Orleans Area
lowernine.org wishes to thank The Midler Family Foundation, The United Way of Greater New Orleans, The Otto and Fran Walter Foundation, CHF International, The Denver Foundation, and The Annenberg Foundation for their generous support. |
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One Volunteer's Story |
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It's always sad to have to say good-bye to someone who has been with lowernine.org almost as long as we've officially been in business, but, alas, this month we said farewell to our old friend, Eric Sussman. Eric came to us in May of last year, enthusiastic but unskilled in the building trades, and worked his way up to leading and training crews on his own. He determinedly worked on improving his skills to the point that he was able to step into the position of interim Project Manager during Matt Grigsby's recent two month sabbatical.
Of his time in the PM position, Eric says "It was great to be able to work so much more closely with all the volunteers, long- and short-term, and a greater number of residents. In discussions with the volunteers I was constantly reminded how happy and fulfilled they all felt, despite the hard work and the grueling weather conditions." Eric also kept helpful notes on projects and procedures where he thought we could add efficiencies and save time and money.
As a token of their affection, the entire volunteer cadre organized a surprise water balloon attack for Eric on his last day. That may not sound that exciting to the rest of you, but when it's 93 degrees in the shade, our volunteers have learned that there's no better way to express their love for a fellow volunteer than to hit him or her with a nicely chilled water balloon. Eric was, understandably, touched...
After a stint back home in Massachusetts, Eric will be heading to Washington State to work as an intern on a small family farm. Eric will be greatly missed and will always have a home with lowernine.org should he care to return.
Best of luck, Eric - we'll miss you! |
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Another Volunteer's Story!
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In continuing with our theme of highlighting our long-term volunteers and saying sad goodbyes, we wanted to give a special shout-out to Jonah Tabb. Jonah came to the Lower Ninth Ward to volunteer with us in June of 2008, from his home in Berekely, CA, with a limited knowledge of the building trades, and has been an indispensible part of our team from day one.
Jonah has done everything from general carpentry and drywall to helping us plan and set up our community garden project; troubleshooting our office computers, operating systems and software; community outreach; acting as our resident ombudsman and point-of-contact with residents; and, most importantly, whipping our office into shape and establishing and maintaining our case file database.
While there remains much work to be done, Jonah remains excited about the future of the Lower Ninth Ward and lowernine.org's participation in its recovery. "I'd have to say, volunteering with lowernine.org has definitely been the best job I've ever had and the best thing I've ever done. From getting to know the residents to working with the hundreds of volunteers who have come through our program since I've been here, the whole experience has been amazing."
We love you, Jonah! |
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Thanks for taking the time to visit with us.
lowernine.org
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