Thoughts on Baton Rouge...
In my hometown of Baton Rouge, there was a terrible and historic flood last week that affected nearly everyone we know from there in some way. This was both unprecedented and unexpected. An unthinkable number of people lost their homes in Baton Rouge and the surrounding suburbs. The latest estimates say that over 100,000 homes are damaged, though I would expect this number to rise as the flood waters in neighboring parishes continue to recede. Yet the city has managed to pull together to help each other, from providing food and clothing, to assisting in demolition, to watching a neighbors children while family members haul all of their possessions to the massive trash pile next to the road. After learning an important lesson from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, people of Baton Rouge didn't wait for the government to show up to rescue them from rapidly rising flood waters. Instead, regular people (including my little brother!) used their personal boats to save people. They have been dubbed the Cajun Navy! They are clearly the main reason that the death toll from this natural disaster is so low. I have never seen such devastation, and yet I've never been prouder of my hometown.
Brian and I were very upset that we were so far away; in fact, this has easily been the hardest week of my expat life. We wished that we were able to go home and help, but with work and school and extraordinarily expensive last minute plane tickets and the general cost of visiting (rental car, gas, food), we decided that a monetary contribution would make a larger impact than our physical presence. It still hurts that we're not there to take some of the burden off our family and friends, especially my grandparents, who lost nearly everything in the flood.
If you feel so inclined to contribute, this is a good organization to check out, as 100% of the funds go to people at the local level (vs. national organizations that pocket a large percentage of your donation!). This one helps the school system I used to work for, the largest in Baton Rouge and the second largest in the state, to provide over 40,000 students with basic school supplies and support local teachers in creating a safe place for students to learn. This one helps the Baton Rouge Food Bank, which lost 500,000 pounds of food in their warehouse. And of course, there are many, many individuals who have lost everything asking for donations on sites like GoFundMe.
The road to recovery will be long and difficult, but the people of Louisiana are strong and resilient. Keep them in your thoughts as they begin to rebuild their lives.
