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The following remarkable story tells the tale of how, as part of the FableVision trip down to Louisiana CUE, we visited a FEMA site, Renaissance Village, for Hurricane Evacuees. Read a first-hand account on some ways they are handling the education and inspiration for their kids under duress, and how a FableVision/Peter H. Reynolds visit brought a spark of hope to the one thousand families who have no idea how long they must call this camp their "home." Bringing
Hope and Inspiration to Katrina and Rita Victims by Bill Norris, "The Dot Connector" - FableVision Sometimes the stars just align perfectly and, as it did in this case, and our trip to LaCUE also brought us out to a very special place for a very special evening. Renaissance Village is the largest FEMA trailer park housing 571 trailers, for over 2,000 displaced New Orleans residents, of whom 528 are children from some of the poorest sections on the Gulf. We arrive at Renaissance Village, a name one might associate with a $800,000 condo development or million dollar gated community. But instead we see rows and rows of white trailers, all sizes and shapes. Over 500 trailers form this newly established “village”, with 5 to 6 people living in each of these sardine-sized containers comprising of a tiny kitchen, a stove with two burners, a mini-size college refrigerator, a tiny sink, a bath room with a toilet and shower that allows you to cleanse half your body at a time....the living area is used as a bedroom, even the coffee table is used as a bed. There is a large community tent and small mess hall where its residents can get food. The village was formerly a working pasture that horses and cows roamed before it became Renaissance Village. It had no water supply, or sewage lines - all that had to be established before anyone could live there.
Despite their new living arrangements, their challenges, cramped living conditions, lack of sandboxes and playgrounds or schools and so many other changes, these children were so joyful and full of life. Their laughter made our night. Who truly knows what’s going on inside their heads. During individual conversations we heard some really interesting comments. A charming six year old brown-eyed basketball player wanted to know if we would draw him in our blank books so when we went home, we would remember what he looked like.
Another very shy young man has had his learning severely disrupted. He is eleven years old and is built like a major league football player. He has a lot of difficulty reading, barely on a second grade level, and he finds his new school doesn’t understand how he learns. He will be attending the Renaissance Learning Center which specializes in reading. He loved the blank book and China marker we gave him. His mother beamed with pride. As Peter often says, sometimes it’s important just to be noticed. On behalf of
FableVision, Peter made a generous donation of books, DVDs, and
site licenses of Stationery Studio, Essay Express and BrainCogs
to the new charter school and library. It was evening one did not
want to end, and one that will not be forgotten.
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Peter
H. Reynolds began his visit with the community in its ‘revival
atmosphere’ tent. The children loved him - within five minutes
they had all moved up front, and got as close to him as they possibly
could. They hung on every word as he talked to them about the importance
of doing well in school, about being creative and giving back to
your community. They listened intently as he read The Dot
and shared Ish with them. His drawings on the easel drew close up
eyes and and even some assistance as the children used his China
markers. During the showing of the animated versions of The
Dot and Ish Peter sat on the rug that covered the
bumpy plywood floor, soon to be joined by several children snuggling
up to their new found friend. The evening ended all too quickly,
but as we know with Peter, he continued to chat and draw with the
students on chart paper and blank books for another hour or so.
Those intimate conversations, words of wisdom, exchange of ideas
and stories made us all realize once again how important this visit
was.
One
middle school girl in attendance shared her story with us - that
her house had been flooded, and she loast all her books, including
some she had written herself. She told us how challenging it was
to attend a new school where one does not feel welcome. She said
the school was different and the work is harder. Despite this, she
said she will work hard and do what her mother tells her. She wants
to do well and please her mom, too.
