Harvey. Irma. Maria….and don’t forget Katrina
During the last month, three catastrophic hurricanes slammed into Texas, Florida, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Barbuda leaving devastation in their wake.
As these communities begin to pick up the pieces of their broken homes and broken lives, they know it will be a long struggle back to normalcy. Many will never get there. As Journalists, it is vital to document their journey, now and into the future.
Yes, the immediate effects and losses of natural disasters are heartbreaking. Flood and storm damage is horrible and expensive to fix, but eventually, the waters recede and buildings get repaired and life goes on for the rest of the world. For a kid who lost their parents or their home, it's not that simple.
Their lives are forever altered and our systems are not friendly.
In 2016, when I was a senior in high school, I was selected to go on a relief mission to New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity to help with Hurricane Katrina relief.
A decade had passed since the devastating hurricane and I admit I was skeptical about what there would be for us to do. It had been a while since I saw anything in the news. When I arrived, I could not believe how much devastation there still was in the Lower Ninth Ward; some parts of the land have not even been touched since the storm.
My classmates and I helped finish painting a house for kids who had lost everything, including their parents and were about to age out of the foster system with nowhere to go. These are the effects that the world forgets about. Ten years later, the ghost of Hurricane Katrina still haunts its victims and many remain displaced and homeless.
Where will we be ten years from now? What will happen to the victims of Irma, Jose and Harvey? Who will build homes for the kids a decade from now that age out of the foster system? The questions are easy. The answers are much harder to come by.
People need to see it for themselves. Pictures and videos leave lasting impressions. Media is powerful because it shines a light on stories that need to be told. As a writer, I have the power to carry a message to people who are in positions to take action and save lives.
These people need our help now. We have no choice but to step up. It's time to answer the call. Donate to the many causes.
Instead of a luxury vacation join a relief group and go spend a week rebuilding these devastated regions. They will need your help for decades.
