Reaching out to Waveland...

Hello everyone, Momma KaBoom here, back from Waveland, Mississippi... A place hard hit by Katrina, but seldom heard about… Well I am raising my voice to raise awareness of those whom so many have forgotten, the wonderful, colorful people of the gulf coast…For me these people have forever changed my life, and I want to give them something in return…Let me begin with a few facts about just one small town…Waveland, Mississippi…60% of the buildings in this town were completely destroyed and many that are left standing will need to be bulldozed too, from the toxic black mold growing like ivy in places where once families grew…So many people displaced, living in tents, and campers hoping that the government and insurance companies will help…Waiting day after day…I’m not saying that FEMA isn’t doing anything, there is just too much that is needed and on paper their solutions seem workable, but in reality, it isn’t feasible. So the real help coming to those people is coming from the ‘US public’, but we all must understand that this isn’t a quick fix kind of situation, it could easily be said that these people need at least a two year commitment, and possible a ten year commitment, of help and goodwill…I personally worked in one of the very few groups feeding hot ‘home-cooked’ meals, I’ll call it a grass roots relief, or in simple terms, a big group of hippies…And many of the people we were there to help would talk about how so many of the larger organizations aren’t helping as much needed, and to speak of FEMA and Red Cross ruffles many feathers, these people feel that the government as a whole hasn’t taken the devastation seriously enough, and their real help comes from church groups, and individual people…So I am sending out a plea…Any and all help is needed, but hands on help is the greatest need…And if you are unable to pull away from your busy lives, be sure what help you can give is actually going directly to the people, not some Organizations paychecks (AKA United Way, Red Cross,ect.)…I’m not saying this as a personal attack on larger organizations, but because this is what I heard from the victims of the hurricane…They need much more direct help, and assistance…When it first happened many people sent things, like winter clothes, but at the time, it was way too hot for them to help anyone, and with no way of storing these items, they sat on contaminated ground, and ruined…So now with cooler ‘winter’ weather beginning to hit, so many are constantly cold, warm clothes, warm socks, gloves, and SPACE HEATERS are desperately needed, wood stoves would work as well, and that is just the beginning…The town hall was completely wiped out and this town doesn’t even have a copy machine…And as far as I could tell, outside communications are few…The area that I worked in had three computers, and two land-line phone connections, and that was it…I had found a TV and they are working hard at a cable, or satellite connection, for many of the people there didn’t even have an idea about Wilma coming north…These people haven’t seen the news in more then two months…For me, I found out about world events, from the few phone calls from home I was able to have…But between working 8-14 hours of cooking each day, and sharing phones, and computers with a few thousand people, reaching out to my family at home was difficult most of the time…Cell phones, and lap-tops would greatly help this area, for these people are trying to rebuilt their lives, personal and businesses, and communications are so vital, yet so hard to obtain…Food donations vary from day to day and grow smaller as the days past…These people need the help that this kitchen/free store that sits in Fred’s parking lot, for there aren’t many stores with walls yet, and who knows how long until there will be enough to provide enough for the area again…These steadfast people of our south need a hand while they get their feet under them again, they are living in a third world country, and they haven’t left their hometown…The pictures that we see on the news, and online can’t even begin to show the devastation and destruction. It’s the first time in my life when a picture wasn’t worth a thousand words and no words can express what the pictures can’t tell…With so much extreme weather slamming into our southern coast, one storm after another, many people have forgotten the hardest hit area’s, besides New Orleans…Let's continue to remember, and reach out to do something about it...I know I will...