“It Takes a Village” to Reunite a Community

Contributed Photo

This Thursday, October 6 at 5 p.m., Mack McClendon, a community organizer from New Orleans, will be on campus in 70 McCormick Rd. to discuss his experiences during Hurricane Katrina and his efforts to rebuild his neighborhood by creating a new community center in the heavily affected Lower Ninth Ward.

When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005, it caused breeches in at least four canals, leading to catastrophic flooding in the majority of the city when the floodwall meant to protect the city was knocked down by a runaway barge.

While the disaster that Hurricane Katrina caused is six years behind us, the storm’s aftereffects are still felt very much today. More than 15,000 individuals were forced to evacuate the city and many of those victims still have not been able to return to their homes – sometimes because many homes are no longer there. McClendon saw the problem of neighbors being scattered throughout the city, the country and the world and wanted to help to bring them all back together. He has worked over the past few years to convert an old warehouse in the neighborhood into a vibrant community center.

The Village offers a computer lab, a kitchen, a small library facility, a conference area and a housing space. Outside community members can work on a garden, perform on an outdoor stage, or shoot around a basketball area. According to their website, the Lower 9^th Ward Village is “a community-driven, community-led non-profit” organization that was created in order “to bring together the entire Lower 9^th Ward and to empower community members to be self-sufficient and to sustain an equitable quality of life.”

Come join other Fairfield University students in welcoming one of the community members who made it possible for Katrina victims to still be able to live as a community instead of being scattered as a result of the storm. If it wasn’t for the Lower Ninth Ward Village that he helped to build, the Lower Ninth Ward may have become completely abandoned without any hope of a proper restoration. His actions just go on to show that one person can make a difference in everyone’s lives.

Mack will be speaking at 70 McCormick Road on the First Floor Commons. His lecture will be followed by an information session on some Spring Break trip opportunities to New Orleans through the Peace and Justice Department. Free dinner will be provided and any freshman that decides to attend can be reassured that this will be an opportunity for FYE credit.