http://mywebtimes.com/ottnews/archives/ottawa/sections.cgi?prcss=display&id=259984
Posted Online: May 11, 2006
Katrina relief: Local Jehovah's Witness lends a hand
TAMMIE SLOUP, tammies@mywebtimes.com, (815) 431-4048
Jehovah's Witnesses usually invoke an image of men and women walking
door-to-door, offering teachings of the Bible.
But there's much different image of the hundreds of Witnesses in
Louisiana and Mississippi, rebuilding their "brothers' and sisters' "
homes, while also pitching in to help others whose homes are in
disrepair.
Ottawa resident Paula Stacy, who has been a Witness since 1968,
recently traveled to Marrero, La., for a week as part of a Hurricane
Katrina disaster relief volunteer effort.
Stacy spent much of her time on "mold remediation" detail, ripping out
walls and other items covered in mold and disposing of them safely.
"Where there's mold, everything has to come out," said Stacy, who
returned home Saturday.
Because of the dangers of inhaling or being exposed to the mold, Stacy
and fellow volunteers were covered from head to foot and wore masks.
All the equipment used is soaked in sporicide at the end of the day.
"We would work 15 minutes, then rest 15 minutes," she said, adding this
type of work pays an average of $100 per hour for those who do it
professionally.
The greater New Orleans area previously had 21 congregations, but since
the hurricane struck, only one is left.
Since Stacy's relief group set up camp, they have repaired and replaced
465 roofs and served 50,000 meals in the area.
Immediately following the storm, Witnesses organized teams to assess
the number of Witness' homes and Kingdom Halls that had been damaged or
destroyed.
As of February, the Long Beach, Miss., relief group reported of the 632
Witness' homes damaged, 531 had been renovated. Of the 17 Kingdom Halls
with severe roof damage, 16 had new roofs.
In Louisiana, of the 2,700 homes needing repair, work on 1,119 had been
completed. Of the 50 Kingdom Halls damaged, half had been repaired.
While the needs of fellow Witnesses is a priority, Stacy explained
their relief efforts extend to many neighbors who are not Witnesses.
"Jehovah's Witnesses don't just help their own people ... But we're
going to take care of our family first," explained Stacy, who is a
painter and wallpaper hanger in Ottawa.
"If we were working on a roof (of a Witness), and a neighbor asked for
help, we would do his roof, too."
Stacy was surprised at the disrepair of the area, as the storm hit
nearly nine months ago.
"I didn't see anything being rebuilt -- except the Superdome," she
said. "There are still neighborhoods that don't have electricity and
water."
Jehovah's Witnesses have congregations throughout the world, and many
from foreign countries took part in the relief effort.
Stacy is considered a "pioneer," which means she is in full-time
ministry and devotes 70 hours a month walking door-to-door and teaching
the Bible -- a primary duty of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Although she was tempted to stay longer, Stacy said she had to get back
to her husband and other responsibilities.
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