Today we split our day working with Community Voice and Boys & Girls Club. For Community Voice we worked at the community garden. We cleared the weeds along the fence, shoveled holes for trees, mowed the lawn and cleared trees. This has been the most intensive type of work we have done so far but it was immediately gratifying as we immediately noticed the difference. Also working on this garden made me realize the importance of beautification projects and the role they can play as the community works towards rebuilding itself and attract its citizens it lost in Katrina. After finishing up at the garden we went to Fair Trade, a coffee shop that works with the community garden. There we met Beth Butler, a community leader who helped us understand the importance of community organization to combat the problems the city still faces.
Today was also our last day at the Boys and Girls Club. We helped them with their homework and finished the stations we had started yesterday. The highlight of my day was playing soccer with a couple of the smaller kids as well as continuing to help Justin finish his homework. I don't always like children and find it difficult to connect with them. But the charm and humor of this kid won me over immediately. He immediately found hilarious nickname for all my friends and me. Meeting and working with these kids today was bittersweet as the interaction with them is instantly gratifying like it is to work at the garden but knowing that today is the last day with them and I won't be there to hear Justin call me silly names makes me a bit sad. But this experience has restarted my interest in mentoring and is something I would like to pursue once we are home again.
-Lizbeth
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