1-15-09 New Orleans

Today was different from any other day. We worked with a non profit group called Greenlight New Orleans that replaced peoples light bulbs with fluorescent light bulbs because they were more environmentally safe. We did a lot of vanning around the city today but thanks to Maggie we found a way to get to every house. It was very strange for all of us at first because we were just walking into peoples homes and replacing their light bulbs for free. Most of the people we did were grateful for what we were doing for them and the environment and I met one of the sweetest women I have ever met in my entire life. 

Her name was Augustine Deluis. She was 80 years old and you would never have noticed. She was under 5 foot in height and she was very interesting to talk with. She was a very open individual about Katrina and the aftermath of the disaster and it was just fun listening to her talk about her family. She had an incredible energy about her and it made all of us smile. Her entire home was in 8 feet of water and you would have never noticed. She had her home rebuilt and she came down 2 years after the disaster. It was so great to see a success story in NOLA when we are seemingly surrounded by sadness in New Orleans. She for sure made my week even better than it already was before. 

I think project green light is a great idea not only to save energy and to protect the earth but to bring people together from different walks of life. Who would have thought that some crazy students from a small private school in Iowa would have walked into a strangers home in New Orleans to change light bulbs. Not only do we just change light bulbs though; learn about their lives. So if we came from Iowa, I'm sure there are other groups out there like us that I want to do this same thing. I hope Green light can expand into more cities because it is a great idea for the environment and the people in the city of NOLA.