New Orleans Summer Rebuilding Program 2009

Students live in one of New Orleans’ many unique neighborhoods and experience both the culture of the city and contribute to the recovery efforts necessary due to the effects of the levee breaks in August 2005. 

Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 28-29, 2005.  Most of New Orleans survived the high winds and rain of the category 4 storm, but the levees and floodwalls surrounding the city were not built to withstand such a hurricane.  Several hours after Katrina passed the city flooded, up to twenty feet in the Lower Ninth Ward.  More than three years after the storm, it is reported that only three-fourths of New Orleans pre-flood population currently lives in the city, many of whom are not original residents.  Almost 2000 lives were lost in New Orleans proper and the effects of the flooding caused many residents to lose all their accumulated wealth and communities – it has been called the worst civil engineering disaster in American history.

Students use this opportunity to give back domestically and to learn about social and emergency issues that are going on within the US.  Also, the cultural and musical aspects of the program provide a great way to get to know a mostly misunderstood American city at the level of a local.  Many people do not understand the need for rebuilding more than three years later, but some neighborhoods are still completely destroyed.  The affects of the storm are present throughout the city, and Katrina is a common topic of discussion in every New Orleanian’s daily life.  It will take a lot to “rebuild”, but spirits are high with the help of out-of-town volunteers giving what they have.  The program is a great opportunity to earn Servicio comunitario hours and learn about the destruction and rebirth of a great American city.

Itinerary: New Orleans Summer Rebuilding Program

Day 1 Tuesday
Arrive at Louis Armstrong International Airport (MSY) in New Orleans where your Rustic Pathways staff members eagerly await you at the airport. Drive to home base, meet the rest of the group, and enjoy a hot, local meal. Welcome to the Big Easy!

Day 2 Wednesday
Don’t waste any time – we begin our Servicio comunitario work today! Grab a hammer and get going – spend the day building a home from the studs through putting the finishing touches on it. After work, tour New Orleans with the group to see first-hand the damage that was done when the city flooded. Learn where the levees breached, how it happened, and gain a sense of the level of destruction that currently remains in New Orleans. After a long day, some jambalaya and a good night’s sleep will do you good.

Day 3 Thursday
Pick back up where we left off, building homes for people who need them. Get to know the residents of St Bernard Parish, Louisiana, a county that was 99% destroyed by the floods. New Orleans is hot in the summer, so cool down in the evening by Lake Ponchatrain with dinner and a game of soccer. Watch the sun set over the lake, and head home for some rest.

Day 4 Friday
Keep building from 8am to 4pm. In the evening, watch a documentary about Hurricane Katrina, its impact, and the recovery process. For dinner, try some local crawfish before heading off to hear some local sounds – maybe a brass band, or a local funk and swing show.

Day 5 Saturday
Take it easy this morning, it has been a long week so far. Shop along one of the city’s major shopping areas in the Garden District, or catch one of the city’s hundreds of festivals a year. After dinner, check out live music at historic Preservation Hall in the French Quarter – an important venue preserving jazz music in the town it was created.

Day 6 Sunday
Go for a walking tour of the French Quarter with your Rustic Pathways staff members and do some souvenir hunting in the French Market. Eat beignets, sample some pralines, and cross the river to the West Bank to see a local gem- Mardi Gras World. In the afternoon, learn the local dance steps accompanied by a live Zydeco band in one of the city’s most famous venues.

Day 7 Monday
Continue your service project and talk to the locals about what life is like in the Crescent City. Listen to their stories about the storm and become amazed at the resiliency of New Orleanians, and begin to understand why we are helping to rebuild this great city. Meet volunteers from across the world who are coming down to help out, and learn what brought them here. Monday nights, New Orleanians always eat red beans and rice – a local specialty, served with fresh baguette and extra Cajun spice.

Day 8 Tuesday
After breakfast and packing lunch, go “down the bayou” and learn about how the wetlands are important both environmentally and for hurricane protection. Get your waders on, get into the swamp, and help save the delicate ecosystem provided by the old Cyprus trees. After lunch, explore the estuary and see some of Louisiana’s wildlife before heading home to a hot meal. Relax this evening, work starts early tomorrow morning!

Day 9 Wednesday
In the morning, back to the worksite! For lunch, enjoy one of New Orleans’ famous po-boy sandwiches wish fresh Gulf seafood or alligator sausage. After work, stop by the zoo or the city’s aquarium that holds a giant white alligator, while watching the steamboats glide down the Mississippi. Day 10 Thursday Return to the work site and continue siding, fencing, hammering, priming, painting, and landscaping. Tonight, gumbo is on the menu…

Day 11 Friday
Continue your volunteer work and see the tremendous progress that you have made during your stay in the Big Easy. After working hard all day, stop by the snowball stand and try yet another flavor of this local sweet. A barbeque in the evening will be a relaxing end to a week of hard work.

Day 12 Saturday
Spend the morning exploring a new neighborhood and learning about the rich European history that makes New Orleans unique. Catch a tour of the Quarter, spend the morning in one of the city’s great museums, or hang out on the Bayou. Check out the city’s local swing scene in the evening with some local bands’ weekly gigs.

Day 13 Sunday
Attend a concert in the park to commemorate the victims of Hurricane Katrina and support the recovery process. You may be lucky enough to be down here during one of the city’s great festivals celebrating Louis Armstrong, Gulf Coast fishing traditions, or Cajun culinary favorites. Take pictures with your new friends and experience one more time whatever it is about the city that you love: music, dancing, history, food…

Day 14 Monday
Take one final day to volunteer your energy towards the rebirth of this great American city. Finish the project that you began last week and take a moment to connect further with the other volunteers and the locals who are much appreciative of all of your support. Go out for one last night in the city, taking in the sounds of a local legend and her funky traditional jazz style.

Day 15 Tuesday
Spend the morning with the friends that you’ve made in the neighborhood where you’re staying and enjoy one last hearty New Orleans meal before you return home and share your experiences and photos with your friends and family. Now you know what it means…

An Important Note about Schedule Changes:
Rustic Pathways reserves the right to change, alter, or amend the daily itinerary for this trip at any time. Changes can be made for various reasons including changes in flight or program schedules, changes in the schedules of various external tours incorporated in our trips, the addition of new activities into a trip, or the substitution of an old activity for a new activity. The itinerary shown here provides a good outline of the anticipated daily schedule for this program. As with any travel program, some changes may occur.

Pack the following items in your carry-on luggage:

Pack the following items in your checked luggage:

Frequently Asked Questions

1 – Will the students travel outside the city?
The students will be within the city limits of New Orleans for most projects and cultural activities, although some activities (local festivals, occasional projects) may be in neighboring towns or parishes (counties).  The group will stay at the base in the city every night, and no day trip will be outside Southern Louisiana.

2 - What costs are not included on this trip?
Snacks, souvenirs, and other shopping excursions are not included, but all meals will be offered.

3 - What kind of food will we be eating? Where?
They will be eating most meals at home base.  Breakfast is usually cereal or bagels, and students will pack their own sandwiches for lunch in the mornings.  Dinner will consist of local specialties (jambalaya, gumbo, red beans & rice, etc.) and American favorites.  Groups occasionally go out to restaurants to experience local cuisine, which is covered in the trip cost.  Meals overall are high-energy and nutritious, many times made with locally grown vegetables and regional ingredients.

4 - Will the kids be drinking bottled water?
The Rustic Pathways students will be able to drink water from the tap during this program, but they will have the option to buy bottle water if they prefer. As New Orleans is in a hot climate, we require that every student has a refillable water bottle on hand at all times to stay hydrated.

5 - What will the accommodation on this trip be like?
Students will be staying at the Rustic Pathways home base each night, in bunk beds with separate quarters for boys and girls.  They will have access to hot showers and

6 - How often (if at all) will students be able to do laundry on this program and what will it cost?
Spring Break students will not be able to do laundry while on the trip, and should bring enough clothing for the week.  Summer Program students will be able to send their laundry out to wash-and-fold service once, halfway through the trip.  Laundry usually costs about $10/load (about 13 pounds of laundry).

7 – Should I bring my musical instrument?
Although we keep pretty busy during the trip, we do have down time.  Feel free to bring your instrument if it is small and easy to carry – New Orleans has been known to inspire musicians to play.  We usually have a guitar on hand.  Rustic Pathways is not responsible for lost or stolen instruments.

8 – Is New Orleans safe? 
Yes. Rustic Pathways takes many precautions to ensure our students’ safety. Students are never in the city unescorted by Rustic Pathways staff.  Rustic Pathways provides our own transportation and therefore, with the exception of the occasional trolley ride, never utilizes public transportation. We avoid potentially dangerous areas, and students are closely supervised during evening concert events; we do not allow students to leave Rustic Pathways property unescorted.