In recent months, media attention has shifted away from the poverty and destruction in the Katrina-stricken Gulf. But the fact remains that Louisiana and Mississippi are still in great need of assistance. In the immediate aftermath of disasters like the tsunami in Southeast Asia and Hurricane Katrina, people are bombarded by imagery of grief-stricken faces and homes torn apart. Their hearts go out to the victims, but as soon as the disaster fades from the limelight. so too does people's consciousness of the work that still needs to be done.
The assistance needed is as great as ever today in many Gulf Coast towns, but volunteer efforts have been dwindling. Even with the current supplies and volunteers, the recovery has been in disarray, as FEMA has not helped to organize the assistance as much as possible.
While many of us were off enjoying our month-long respite from schoolwork and jet-setting to far off lands, a group of 106 Tufts students and alumni volunteered a week of their time earlier this month to help rebuild damaged homes along the Mississippi coast. The students worked alongside the Youth for Christ Outreach Program, one of many faith-based non-profit organizations doing some of the most important recovery work in the region. Rebuilding primarily in Gulfport, the largely unskilled students were set to work cleaning up the homes of the many residents who could not perform the manual labor themselves.
The efforts of volunteers like this group of Tufts students are still greatly needed: Much of the Gulf Coast remains unlivable or in extreme disrepair, and may remain so for years. Mississippi in particular needs help rebuilding: It was hit as badly as New Orleans, yet received far less media coverage and aid.
But though some supplies have been stockpiled and volunteers have arrived, the real problem for recovery has been getting organized. Non-profit organizations can do a great deal of work that the federal government cannot accomplish; they do not have to deal with as much red tape. They focus on their own communities and can generally act with more precision than the federal or state government.
Tufts students found that although some of the people they helped appreciated federal aid, they were more grateful to non-profits - especially church groups. The problem with these groups, however, is that they usually act independently of one another and therefore cannot coordinate their efforts or communicate about when and where the need is greatest. As reported in today's Daily, some Tufts students felt that Youth for Christ did not act as efficiently as possible, delegating volunteers to some houses that were in decent shape, while neglecting other homes in greater need.
Non-profits can only do so much. It is up to a state or federal organization to organize recovery efforts so as to distribute supplies and volunteers more efficiently. In the months to come, as Katrina inevitably slips from the main stage, it will be up to all of us to remember that the recovery work is far from finished. We must all contribute what we can of ourselves, and see to it that the Gulf Coast is not forsaken. But it will be up to the federal government to sort out the mess - and to do a better job organizing relief efforts.
