Campus Hurricane Katrina Relief

Katrina Experience

Students Assist Gulfport Miss. Residents

UW-RF students and Gulfport, Miss., residents are working together this week to continue the resurrection of that community in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A total of 35 UW-RF students and five staff members, coordinated by Brent Turner and Karyn Kling of the UW-RF Student Services and Programs office, began work there Monday and will continue their activities through Friday before returning to River Falls.

The students are journaling their activities each day and reflecting on its meaning. Students Katy Leisch, Katie Bollig, Jessica Kopp shared their impressions on arriving there: "Most homes are in unlivable standards on the inside with walls damaged by saturation and flooding, roofs torn apart, trees toppled over, and as one approaches the mile leading directly to the Coast, complete devastation prevails. One cannot comprehend this destruction until witnessing it first hand. In our experience, we were left completely speechless..... Many of us are new to the tasks assigned, but have learned fast through the graciousness of other volunteers.

The old adage, 'Many hands make light work,' has rung true for our services. Jobs that would take these families weeks to do, we are able to complete in a day. On the grand scale of things, our contributions may not seem like much, however to these individuals they mean the world."