Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Progress in the Musicians Village




Hello, everyone. It's Roya. Today was our second day on the Habitat site. It is truly an honor to be in New Orleans and to share this amazing experience with my fellow colleagues. I can’t believe that it has been a year since I was last here with seven other staff members to help with the rebuilding efforts. The Musicians Village is almost unrecognizable – it has come a long way since June 2007! Last summer, there were around 40 finished homes in the Village. Now, there are nearly 80 homes completed and many people bustling around the neighborhood. I was happy to see streets lined up with Habitat homes, when only a year ago we were laying the foundations and floorboards.

During lunch today, Barbara Thomas and I went for a short walk to North Galvez Street, where last year’s group tirelessly worked on two houses. I was excited to see that the two houses were not only completed, but that a family, a single mother and her 9-year-old daughter, already occupied one of them. They had a small wreath on the door and I could tell that it had become their home. It was a poignant moment for me to realize that our efforts contributed to this process. I have included a few pictures of the two houses from last year and the picture that we took today so you can see the progress for yourself. ~ Roya

3 comments:

Rob Hochschild said...

Hello to the Berklee 2008 crew! It's so great to see that you all are continuing the good vibes from last year and bringing your own big energy to the effort. And Roya, thanks for the story about the N. Galvez folks. Really nice to hear about things going full circle-I sure hope that floor we helped install is nice and flat! Anyway, thanks to all 15 of you for representing the rest of us so enthusiastically. Makes me feel like we're down there with you. I hope you make it over to dba on Frenchman Street! - Rob Hoch.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Roya for posting that! So glad to see our two homes from last year finally completed. I just shared these pics with my office. Please give your team my best wishes and have a safe flight home.

-Matt

Jenna said...

THANK YOU, ROYA!!!!! I'm so glad to see that our house is no longer ours. My fond memories of the peach house-- painting the porch, on a ladder, even AND carrying in those horrible plasterboard wall pieces. Wow.

Keep up the good work and have a great next few days!