Interact in Birmingham, AL, Day 2: Testing Our Stamina

The Interact club, led by teacher Steve Chisnell, is in the Birmingham, AL, area this week for disaster relief work after January’s tornadoes:

Storm's line crashes through home

Today was our second day in Alabama, and things picked up right where they left off. We first started on a house just off to the side of our last site, one that had been damaged just as badly, if not worse, than the previous location.

Sheets of metal and tree branches were strewn about, while seemingly endless Christmas decorations lay in ruin among the fragile housing. At first, the walls that had fallen and were scattered across the yard were out of focus, but as the smaller obstacles were cleared, a great team effort was made to clear the yard of them.

After lunch, most of the group worked their way down the road to a new site, but I stayed behind to help clear large branches and pieces of wood to finish off our work at the first property. After that was done, I arrived on the scene to a terrible sight, a family’s entire home torn apart by the storm, left with nothing. The line where the storm traveled was clearly visible, bending trees in either direction and clashing directly into the family’s home.

- Eric Lofquist

Efforts helps put things in perspective

As I was walking around the site yesterday, I noticed a house down below the area we had been working on and was stunned by the extensive damage surrounding it. This morning, I was happy to find this would be our first site for the day. At first, it felt as if it would be practically impossible for us to clear the area. ... It seemed as though the scraggly limbs and broken ornaments were never-ending.

But I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly and effectively our team was able to clear the whole area out. What seemed to be an impossible task was cleared in half a day.

This motivation continued on to our second site, which I will honestly say was as emotionally challenging to work in as it was physically. It’s easy to imagine what a totaled home would look like, but a whole other thing to actually experience it. But our team was strong and put in their maximum effort, allowing us to salvage and clear out more than I thought we would be able to.

Overall, I just feel so excited to have the opportunity to work with everyone and help these families. Equally, I am thankful of how this experience is allowing me to put things in perspective and help me realize how important lending a hand can be.

- Andrea Clinton

Students muster collective force

When I woke up this morning, I didn’t think I would be able to make it through. My muscles were sore from yesterday and my hours of sleep were lacking due to heaters burning out in the middle of the night. However, once we got on site and got moving, it was easy to forget the slight resistance of my body, as long as I kept moving.

The second site we worked on today was simply a shocking site. Rotten food and moldy carpet was randomly intertwined with the dirt and branches. Looking at the piles of trash that were twice my height was intimidating. Removing things by the shovel-full, the bucketful, or the wheelbarrow-full was slow going, but after an hour or two, when I looked back at the recognizably clear spot, I was easily motivated to start on the next one.

I want to also mention the amazing motivation of the other students on this trip. It was simply amazing to me that there was not one person who could be found sitting around. I believe that our energy and stamina works as a collective force. Certainly, seeing others working hard makes me want to produce the same caliber of work. I’m so happy with the group of people whom accompanied me on this trip, I couldn’t have asked for better.

It’s quite late, (8:36) and my cot is actually looking like the most comfortable thing in the world. I’m quite excited for lights out time. I hope you had a happy Valentine’s Day, and I wish you all a goodnight.

- Janel Gorman