Don’t forget: one year after Katrina

At the one-year anniversary of the Katrina hurricane, there’s good news, bad news, and a longing from those affected that they not be forgotten.

The good news is what has already been done. Lois Nickel of Mennonite Disaster Service, for example, reminds that 4,000 volunteers (including 780 Canadians) have travelled to the Gulf to do cleanup, repair, and rebuilding in nine communities, with 1,000 homes and yards worked on and 11 new homes completed.

Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Disaster Service are working as partners in the effort, responding with more than $2 million in donated funds and $820,000 (U.S.) in material aid.

The bad news is that there’s still a great deal of work to be done. Forty percent of people registered with FEMA are still living outside their home zip code area.

“People are hurting so much, it’s incredible,” said Blanca Mackay, a hurricane response worker serving with her Anabaptist congregation in Louisiana.

“We just really, really need your prayers, all of us,” Mennonite Central Committee worker Lydia Weikel said. “This is a long-term project. . . . Don’t forget us. Don’t forget what’s going on down here.”

—MCC, MDS