In April, during Spring Break, members of Boy Scout Troop 160 took a nine-day trip to Slidell, La., to help rebuild houses for those still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. The boys are residents of Chantilly and Herndon.
With financial support and a borrowed van from Reston Bible Church, the trip was the culmination of five months of planning and produced 1,864 hours of volunteer service from the 12 adults and 15 teens who participated.
Planning for this mission began in January, built on an established relationship between Reston Bible Church and Faith Bible Church in Slidell.
In February, troop volunteers began training in drywall construction and repair at the Home Depot in Reston. They gained numerous skills and became even more eager to help, according to troop leaders.
The Scouts began the 1,000-mile trip to Slidell on April 7, stopping in Chattanooga, Tenn., for an overnight stay at a YMCA. A game of basketball went late into the night, as the Scouts knew they would be riding in the vans again all the next day.
Upon their arrival in Slidell, they were shocked, according to troop leaders. Although the catastrophe occurred nearly a year ago, the Scouts said it looked like it happened just last week. One commented, "It looked like a bomb went off."
Scouts began working on two houses. In one, they installed a wood floor and painted and installed new doors. The man who lived there had only one leg and used a wheelchair.
He was friendly and talked baseball with the Scouts whenever they were resting. Lots of his friends and former neighbors visited during the Scouts' visit, and it seemed evident that his life was slowly returning to normal, even though he was still living on his front lawn in a trailer provided by the federal government.
The second home was in need of massive drywall repair and replacement. The house belonged to an elderly woman named Gladys, who also was temporarily housed in a trailer on her front lawn.
When the troop was finished utilizing their new drywall skills, every wall in the house had been redone. The owner showed her appreciation by cooking a homemade lunch for all the boys on their last day.
Although their living quarters during the trip were less than spectacular — the Scouts shared sleeping space and shower rotations with 74 others in a small neighborhood church — the troop felt a great sense of accomplishment with their charitable efforts, according to troop leaders. They also left with a feeling that so much more needs to be done.
Herndon's Boy Scout Troop 160 has now established a vision calling for Boy Scout troops across the country to travel to the Katrina-ravaged area as they did. Their goal is to significantly increase the number of troops traveling to the New Orleans area to make a difference in that community as part of the Boy Scout global service mission.
Troops interested in planning their own volunteer reconstruction trip can email Herndon Troop 160 at troop160@cox.net.