Brethren Disaster Ministries seeks skilled volunteers for special project in Louisiana in April

Brethren Disaster Ministries, with leadership from Cliff Kindy, is organizing a team of skilled volunteers to serve in Pointe-au-Chien, La., from April 7-28 to rebuild a home destroyed by Hurricane Ida in 2021.

The project is partnering with Week of Compassion (Christian Church/Disciples of Christ) to finish a house that is to be framed and closed in by Mennonite Disaster Services by the end of March.

Organizers are seeking 6 to 10 volunteers to serve for 2 weeks. The work is likely to include blocking, insulation, drywall, painting, setting toilet and shower, setting counters and cabinets, trim, flooring, final electrical and plumbing, and installation of doors, hardware, and appliances.

Brethren Disaster Ministries and Kindy first responded in Pointe-au-Chien in August 2023, at that time also in a partnership with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). A group of seven volunteers from the Church of the Brethren’s South/Central Indiana District and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Kansas spent a week participating in a local disaster response. The team, led by Kindy and Floyd Pearson, also a volunteer project leader with Brethren Disaster Ministries, worked alongside members of the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe and other volunteers (Baptist, Mennonite, and Presbyterian).

Most of the houses in this bayou community were damaged or destroyed during Hurricane Ida in 2021 but residents either did not receive federal funding after the storm or were delayed in receiving it until after appeals were made. The Louisiana-based Lowlander Center has been supporting the community in its recovery, including through grants from other denominations and Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOADs).

“This is an Indigenous fishing/shrimping community on the Gulf with an enclosed waterway for the shrimp boats, surrounded by a 16-foot dike, houses on 12-foot pilings, and built to withstand 165 mph winds,” said Kindy, who is an experienced Brethren Disaster Ministries volunteer leader. “They are recognized by Louisiana, not by the US government, so they got no FEMA funds. The Army Corps of Engineers wants them to move because of their vulnerability on the coast, which would mean they lose their community, so they decided to mitigate and stay put.”