WHEREAS, On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina left many in New Orleans homeless, particularly those in the poorest areas of New Orleans- the 9th Ward; and
WHEREAS, Government relief efforts have been grossly inadequate leaving many to suspect that because many of the hardest hit victims are poor and black, federal relief agencies simply didn’t prioritize delivering much needed aid; and
WHEREAS, Some seven months after Hurricane Katrina, many New Orleans victims are still displaced and still in need of help cleaning mud, mold and debris from what remains of their homes; and
WHEREAS, The students of Howard University, a Historically Black College, felt a special responsibility to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina because of their ethics and cultural ties, with one student commenting that the people of New Orleans “…were just like me. They were just like my grandparents, but everything was taken away.”; and
WHEREAS, More than 250 Howard students signed up and boarded buses in March 2006 for an almost 20 hour ride to New Orleans to help clean houses and gut down their foundations so that they could be rebuilt; and
WHEREAS, The students were shocked at the devastation they witnessed with one student remarking that “The situation was nothing that you could have prepared for.” and another lamenting that “It was like a third world country.”; and
WHEREAS, The work required the students to wear protective suits, masks, goggles, helmets, boots and hard hats because a lot of the houses were infested with deadly mold; and
WHEREAS, Residents told the students that they, “…were so happy to see students who looked like them, who came to their aid and to show their support and their love and their concern.”; and
WHEREAS, The Howard students were recognized by ABC NEWS as “Persons of the Week” for volunteering to help the Katrina victims; and
WHEREAS, We take pride in the commitment to public service and to those in need demonstrated by the students of one of the nation’s oldest and most important Historically Black Colleges; now therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we commend the students of Howard University for spending their spring break in New Orleans helping victims of Hurricane Katrina and congratulate them for being recognized as “Persons of the Week” by ABC NEWS for their important contribution to public service.
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