Alabama , ya'll

After taking several trips throughout the summer of 2007, one specific trip that truly enlightened me was the trip to Bayou La Batre, Alabama. I came back to Delaware with a slight southern flair and for some reason, I can't help but say "ya'll" all the time. I was a camp counselor for a free summer camp known as "Camp Noah." I'm sure you're wondering if I treated the kiddies the same way Major Payne would (great movie) since I'm prone to making sarcastic but endearing remarks. Well, I didn't have to because there was a smart, witty, six year-old who made them for me. She was one of my favorite campers, by the way.

I'm sure everyone is aware of the damage that Hurricane Katrina caused in 2005. The aftermath of the hurricane left many homes damaged and many families homeless. I previously went down south in the winter of 2005 to help clean/build homes with my church. It was more of a laborious trip and I only interacted with the families briefly. But this year, I volunteered with my church to go back down to help operate a free summer camp for the disadvantaged post-Katrina children.

A majority of the families were very poor before the hurricane (specifically the Vietnamese population), thus, Katrina financially crippled them even more afterwards. To my surprise, a diverse set of problems existed within the families. Some were battling extreme poverty, broken and abusive family relationships, educational disadvantages, or a mix of everything. Many families still lived in FEMA trailers and encouraged their children to work as soon as possible in order to support the family instead of pursuing more education. In some desperate cases, mothers would go into prostitution for the sake of their families.

Despite their backgrounds, each child was extremely gracious, sweet, and enthusiastic about the smallest things. I came there with the intention of teaching but I left learning from them. Words cannot express how humbling and eye-opening this experience was.



A typical house


This is Chad. A few seconds after this picture, he was trying to pluck out the gray hairs from his dog.


The little boy, Timmy, on the left was the sweetest camper. He loved eating double and triple lunches. From now on, if I ever eat a hotdog, I'll think of him…He ate four for lunch one time


This is Jerry and his little turtle tail a.k.a. rat tail


These are girls that I worked with. As you can see, Timmy practiced writing his name on the front of my shirt.


Thaoie's grill is better than a rapper's




The older boys

Aivi's little kiddie class


The smart and witty Cindy. I love her


Lunch time


I know some of ya'll are involved in clubs or volunteering activities. If you're ever interested in doing some sort of fundraising or work down south, message me. Nevertheless, I ask that you keep the children and their families in your prayers.