Gratification
12-13-05
There are no desolate fields to speak of, no crying widows in the street, but this is but the outside of the city. As we venture further in, we see the razed remains of homes, the devestation that words cna only begin to describe. The waters have receded now, but they leave behind far more than mold and ruined buildings. The lives here are shattered. Beloved family and dear neighbors lie dead, remembered only by orange numebrs sprayed onto walls by emergency services. Devestation can only begin to describe the material damage here, and there are no words for the people.The people... that's what everything is about. Why there are two hundred men and women down here in Biloxi volunteering with Hands On USA. Volunteers who have taken time off school, work, or away from family in order to help the people of Biloxi, as best they can.And the residents of this town know this. Though deprived of what many of us consider basic living necessities, they smile and tell us their stories, of how water rose and rose and rose, never ending, of how they prayed and wept and prayed - not only for themselves, but for the people of Biloxi.One woman eagerly told me of how her and sixteen other family members huddled together in the attic, as the water rose more than ten feet. She told me of how the attic window was locked, and had the water risen any further, they would have all drowned. And yet this woman, whose home and most material possessions are destroyed, can wait in line for some clothes, while telling me her story without shedding a tear. She even tells me one thing in her rich southern accent I don't think I'll ever forget. "God gives us challenges, but only those we can meet." She sees this as a challenge, and is willing to pick up the threads of her life. And that is why being here is so gratifying, because I can help mend one small thread of her life. By just being there, by just listening and doing the small tasks I can here. For anyone who reads this, I encourage you to come down, if only for a day, to do what you can here. No matter how small, your contribution will make a difference to these people. The fact that you are here and that you care is enough.
Nikhil Jain '09
There are no desolate fields to speak of, no crying widows in the street, but this is but the outside of the city. As we venture further in, we see the razed remains of homes, the devestation that words cna only begin to describe. The waters have receded now, but they leave behind far more than mold and ruined buildings. The lives here are shattered. Beloved family and dear neighbors lie dead, remembered only by orange numebrs sprayed onto walls by emergency services. Devestation can only begin to describe the material damage here, and there are no words for the people.The people... that's what everything is about. Why there are two hundred men and women down here in Biloxi volunteering with Hands On USA. Volunteers who have taken time off school, work, or away from family in order to help the people of Biloxi, as best they can.And the residents of this town know this. Though deprived of what many of us consider basic living necessities, they smile and tell us their stories, of how water rose and rose and rose, never ending, of how they prayed and wept and prayed - not only for themselves, but for the people of Biloxi.One woman eagerly told me of how her and sixteen other family members huddled together in the attic, as the water rose more than ten feet. She told me of how the attic window was locked, and had the water risen any further, they would have all drowned. And yet this woman, whose home and most material possessions are destroyed, can wait in line for some clothes, while telling me her story without shedding a tear. She even tells me one thing in her rich southern accent I don't think I'll ever forget. "God gives us challenges, but only those we can meet." She sees this as a challenge, and is willing to pick up the threads of her life. And that is why being here is so gratifying, because I can help mend one small thread of her life. By just being there, by just listening and doing the small tasks I can here. For anyone who reads this, I encourage you to come down, if only for a day, to do what you can here. No matter how small, your contribution will make a difference to these people. The fact that you are here and that you care is enough.
Nikhil Jain '09
posted by Dartmouth in Biloxi at 7:00 AM
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