In the chaos that was Causeway Boulevard in New Orleans last Thursday, one group of survivors stood out: a 6-year-old boy walking down the road, holding a 5-month-old, surrounded by five toddlers who followed him around as if he were their leader.
They were holding hands. Three of the children were about two years old, and one was wearing only diapers. A three-year-old girl, who wore colorful barrettes on the ends of her braids, had her 14-month-old brother in tow. The 6-year-old spoke for all of them, and he told rescuers his name was Deamonte Love.
they found Deamonte’s mother, who was in a shelter in San Antonio along with the four mothers of the other five children. Catrina Williams, 26, saw her children’s pictures on a web site set up over the weekend by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. By Sunday, a private plane from Angel Flight was waiting to take the children to Texas.
The water wasn’t going down and they had been living without light, food or air conditioning for four days. The baby needed milk and the milk was gone. So she decided they would evacuate by helicopter. When a helicopter arrived to pick them up they were told to send the children first and that the helicopter would be back in 25 minutes. She and her neighbors had to make a quick decision.
“I told them to go ahead and give them up, because me, I would give my life for my kids. They should feel the same way,” said Love, 48. “They were shedding tears. I said, Let the babies go.'”
The helicopter didn’t come back.
“I think what’s going to stick with them is that they survived Hurricane Katrina,” he said. “And that they were loved.”
Project K.I.D is an initiative that is responding to Kids in Devastation.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, children in many areas are starving, dehydrated, unsupervised, and mentally distraught. Play, which is the work of children, has ceased. Some parents have even sought to sign their children over to governmental authorities to secure relief for their children.
Those involved in on-the-ground relief efforts agree that immediate emergency child care services are desperately needed in areas devastated by disaster.
PROJECT: K.I.D.–Responding to Kids in Devastation–is a new non-profit organization created to quickly deliver child care services in the most devastated areas. Based in Fairhope, Alabama, this organization is bringing together individuals, relief organizations, businesses, and government agencies to collect supplies, organize volunteers, coordinate transportation into and out of devastated areas and ensure that parents and children are provided safe, reliable, and much needed respite child care.
Here is a list of their Urgent Needs, how to help, and how to volunteer. You can also follow the blog for updates.