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PhilaNola V News!
Our fifth trip to New Orleans may have been our most productive. We were joined by three members of Hartsville First Presbyterian Church in Hartsville, SC. Our team from Philadelphia included Sonia Lee, Angie Edwards, Tom Moore, Dave Gallagher, Marc Roberts, Dan Oke, Doug Vass, Tim McLaughlin, (Blair Road Methodist) Henri Weems, ( Marian Vosburgh's brother) and Toby Vosburgh.
Our house was located in the lower ninth ward. It belongs to Victory Taylor, a resident of New Orleans for the past 35 years. Our assignments were numerous; complete the siding and if possible prepare the opposite side for siding, install cabinets for the entire kitchen, install backer board in both bathrooms and tile. The tiling included a ceiling in one bathroom. We were to create a larger landing upstairs and add a 12 foot wall and sheetrock, open a wall under the stairs and create a closet, and recase all the windows and front door. We accomplished all our tasks, and the siding crew, Tim, Doug and Marc, were able to install siding on part of the opposite side of the house.
Victory came to work on Monday with us, and was planning to be on site later in the week. Unfortunately her grandson, who was to live with her, was killed in an automobile accident Wednesday afternoon. We plan to follow up with her through Angie's Kingdom project with Project Homecoming.
On Wednesday night we met with one of the PDA (Presbyterian Disaster Assistance) coordinators. He explained that they are running out of houses to rebuild. The criteria to qualify are much like Habitat. Every homeowner must be employed in order to pay their mortgage, and must have at least $35,000 in insurance. The homeowners pay for most of their materials using the insurance money. PDA helps in volunteer labor and through various grants and donations. It appears that within the next year and a half PDA will conclude their operations. Therefore if you are planning to go on a PhilaNola trip, time is running out. We will be going back in late September or early October. We already have five people that have expressed an interest in going, and an extra vehicle to transport us down and back. We should have a date established within the next month. Check the church's website for additional information. Thank you for your continued support.
For more photos check out the PhilaNola V photo gallery below.
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