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From left. Rita Stephenson of Oak Park. Ellie Kotov of
Farmington and Erica Rogers of Birmingham clear debris.
Making It Count
As students ready for this year's spring break,
HMD Hillel students recall work in New Orleans.
by Erica Rogers
Detroit
There is a symbol seen almost everywhere in
New Orleans, called the Katrina Cross. It is
an enormous spray painted "X" with a
number or abbreviation in each quadrant.
Since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans
in August 2005, it has been painted on
almost every ruined building in the city. The
top quadrant signifies the date that the
building, often a house, was discovered. The
left quadrant identifies the certified rescue
team, like the National Guard, that found
the building. The right quadrant answers
whether anyone was found in the house. If
people were found, the bottom number indi-
cates how many of those people were dead.
Last March, I traveled with Hillel of Metro
Detroit (HMD) on an alternative spring
break trip to New Orleans to help rebuild
after Hurricane Katrina. From the moment
our bus drove into the city, I saw this sym-
bol everywhere. It was that moment that I
realized that all of our preparation for the
trip was going to pay off, and we were truly
going to make a difference in not only the
lives of New Orleans residents, but our own
lives as well.
Before last year, I was hardly involved
with Hillel. I had heard good things about
it, but I had never really put forth the effort
to learn more. When I heard that HMD was
offering a spring break trip that consisted of
10 learning seminars and a volunteer trip to
New Orleans, I decided to apply. I had never
done anything like it before.
When I went to my first class, I was ner-
vous, because I knew no one. I wish I had
known then that the 10 people I was about
to meet were going to become family to me.
Each of the 10 seminars leading up to the
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trip had a different theme relating to tikun
olam (healing the world) and the Jewish
community in Metro Detroit. We learned
about things such as caring for the sick
and having sensitivity toward people with
disabilities. Each week prepared us in a dif-
ferent way for what we were going to be
doing and seeing in New Orleans.
These sessions also helped me become
much more connected to Judaism. I learned
so much about my religion and how to uti-
lize Metro Detroit organizations to expand
my Jewish knowledge and experiences.
When it finally came time for the trip,
everyone was nervous and excited for what
we were about to experience. We had spent
so much time learning and preparing, but
I do not think anyone was able to predict
how much devastation we were going to
see and how much we were going to be
affected by it.
The HMD group was unique for two
reasons. The first was that we were small,
unlike most of the other schools. I am so
thankful for this, because we formed such a
close bond. Because of the nature of what
we were doing, we had to learn to trust
each other and depend on each other for
help.
When going through such an emotional
experience, it is very important to have good
people around you. It was impossible to just
do our scheduled work for the day and then
go back to the campsite and forget about it.
The things we experienced stayed with us,
and it was impossible to not talk about it
and how it affected us.
The second reason our group was unique
was that we went to a different worksite
almost every day, whereas most of the other
Advocacy at Oakland University
Junior Spencer Kent of Franklin gets some company
from the OU Grizzly mascot while manning Israel
advocacy tables at Oakland University in Auburn
Hills. Kent is a member of Hillel of Metro Detroit,
which includes Jewish students from Wayne State
University, Oakland Community College, Lawrence
Technological University, University of Detroit Mercy
and the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Eric Rosenbloom of Farmington Hills
staples a heat bafiier to the attic walls.
groups went to the same place. This really gave
us the opportunity to work on a little bit of
everything, from completely gutting a back yard
to putting in a radiant barrier and insulating a
family's attic to reduce heating costs.
The level of confidence that I gained just from
one week in New Orleans was amazing. Every
task that my group tried, we were
able to complete. The trip made me
realize just how much power I can
have strictly from determination to
complete something.
The trip moved me more than
anything else I have ever experienced
in my life. After coming home, no
problem seemed too big to conquer.
I learned that everything must be put
in perspective, because undoubtedly,
someone else has it worse. And, if
that person is anything like every
single resident I met in New Orleans,
they maintained optimism and hope,
despite their current condition.
I cannot stress the importance
of partaking in opportunities like
Alternative Spring Break. In March,
HMD will be taking a group of people
to Miami for a similar trip. Although
there will be less physical labor and
more of a focus on interacting with
those who live there, I am confident
it will be just as rewarding and unfor-
gettable as last year's trip.
Classes began last month with
the limit of 10 students. If interested,
plan ahead for next year. Contact
Julie Schechter, HMD program
associate, at hillelpd@wayne.edu or (313) 577-
3459. @
Erica Rogers of Birmingham is a sophomore at Wayne
State University, Detroit. She is the student chair of
the spring break program this year.
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February 11 • 2010
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