News about the work made by the Jehovah's Witnesses and their Disaster Relief Committees, when the hurricanes Katrina and Rita stroked the States of Louisiana and Mississippi, USA:
Local Witnesses Organize to Help Victims of Hurricane Katrina
Jehovah's Witnesses
Office of Public Information
September 1, 2005
UNITED STATES—Representatives of Jehovah’s Witnesses were cooperating with local authorities yesterday afternoon to assess the needs of their fellow worshippers and others victimized by the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.
Initial reports indicate that Witnesses who sought refuge in the Superdome in New Orleans are now being evacuated to the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, some 350 miles away. Some Witnesses who are residents of New Orleans and surrounding areas were not in the city because they were attending a Witness convention in Beaumont, Texas, when the hurricane made landfall. By that Sunday afternoon, arrangements were made for all of them to be accommodated in the homes of their fellow worshippers in the Beaumont and Houston areas until they can return home.
Witnesses across the United States were moved to offer their services, donations, and/or materials to those needing assistance. A relief committee is being set up to coordinate these matters once a clearer picture of the extent of the damage is available.
Katrina relief: Local Jehovah's Witness lends a hand
2006-05-11
TAMMIE SLOUP
The Times
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, Mississippi, 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.
Jehovah's roofing service
Sunday, October 30 at 01:40 pm CT
text from MSNBC.co
by Kari Huus
WAVELAND, Miss.—On a dusty side road just off the main strip, there is a flurry of activity. In a neighborhood where most homes stand silent, this one has about 20 men and women working on the roof. They’re fast, but also festive, moving supplies up ladders and nailing down shingles. It doesn’t have the feel of a typical roofing crew, and it’s not. It’s the Jehovah’s Witnesses, here to help one of their own. For homeowner Alice Maness, this is the third crew to come through. The first came and cleaned out the muck, the second gutted the house. And now, the roofers are here. “We’re Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they help each other,” Maness says.
As we learn, Jehovah’s Witnesses have a well-practiced system for disaster relief. The organization sends out teams to assess damage to members’ homes, orders the materials needed, sets up a base, and then begins deploying church volunteers from its churches all over the country. There are about 300 people at just one of its three bases in the Katrina-stricken region. Even in normal times, building is part of the church’s culture, because members join building parties to construct Kingdom Halls used for worship.
“We’re practiced, and super fast,” says Brian Matusz. He should know. His house in Gulf Breeze, Fla., took four feet of water after Hurricane Ivan. But “brothers and sisters” arrived, in wave after wave, and made it habitable within six weeks. “They came in from everywhere. It was unbelievable,” says Matusz. Now, he says, his house is the only one standing in the cul-de-sac. “All the other neighbors couldn’t get the insurance and everything together, and they’ve all bulldozed.”