This past week I spent 2 1/2 days working at point of distribution sites with Convoy of Hope with disaster relief of Hurricane Gustav. Our team spent 2 days in New Iberia, Louisiana and a half of a day in Homua, Louisiana. I saw over 4,000 cars and 10,000 people come thru these sites for water, ice and food, and here is the thing I noticed.

Its level at ground zero.

As I was standing in line waiting for the next car to stop in front of my spot that I had with a pallet of ice, a pallet of water, and a pallet of food, something begin to strike me.
One car would be an old beater with 3 different families in it.
The next would be a new 4×4 truck.
The next would be  a sports car with an upper class couple.

No matter who it was, they all waited over an hour for water, ice and food.

On wednesday, I remember talking to these three guys in their 40s or 50s that were driving this old beat up pick up truck with a couple of old rusty bikes in the back.
I loaded up their water, ice and food.
And one of them asks me, “Do you have any tarps? We need tarps.”
He continued, “Do you know of any shelters? We are homeless.”
These three guys had been living in the woods for the past week, and were covered in poison oak.

They waited in line for over 45 minutes to get water, ice and food.
In that same line for the same items, were doctors, teachers, engineers, who also needed the essentials of water, ice and food. 

Hurricane Gustav leveled the field of social-economic classes.

No related posts.