My name is Eddie and this is my third AWB to New Orleans. Today we visited Apostolic Outreach Center to help with the community garden. We started the day by turning up topsoil in the flowerbeds and compost piles. We then went inside to hear from Master Gardener, Debera Surtain. She told us the story behind the garden and her experience with Hurricane Katrina. Hearing her story enlightened me to the hardships that citizens of New Orleans had to endure. She told us about the governmental failures and how her faith helped her through the travesty that was Katrina. We then helped her make signs to put up in the garden.

After we finished at the garden we were off to Jackson Square for a scavenger hunt; it was a great way to see the French Quarter and experience New Orleanian delicacies like the hottest hot sauce in the universe.

This trip has been an amazing experience for me. Even though this is my third visit to New Orleans I am still learning so much about the people, city, and Katrina. Tomorrow Team Inspire (The best team ever!) will be going to help in the lower ninth ward. I am so excited to go and help Lower Nine; over the course of the week I have had the opportunity to see all different parts of the cituy and the ninth ward will be a fantastic place to end.

~ Eddie is a Sophomore at Yale.

Today was very eye-opening. It made me actually think hard about how others live and how good I have it.

Today we went to help out at the Alexandra House and I was in charge of helping organize the thrift sale. I also had a great time with the kids! They were so happy and I don’t think they had any idea of why they were there and not in a nice home with their whole family. We then got a tour at PATH and it was very interesting! I think my favorite day was today because I felt like we did the most work to help the society!

I’m not a part of TY camp but this trip might make me sign up because I had a great time with all of the people! Thanks for making my winter break great and I will hopefully see everyone over the summer!

~Jessica is a 9th grader from Scotch Plains, NJ

Today, we went to The Alexandria House, where victims of domestic abuse stay while they get their lives back on track. I helped take down Christmas decorations and play with the little kids that lived there. Each one of those kids had such a distinct, unique personality, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to them to make them the way they were. A girl I played with, Jade, was very sensitive to what everyone else said and did. She wanted to be just like all the kids around her, and negatively interpreted many interactions. A contrasting personality, Kingston, was very dominant and aggressive, and he was very much a part of everything. But the way all of the kids craved our love and attention made me fear to wonder what they had been through and how their lives shaped them. It was such a powerful experience to get to interact with the children because, living in a community such as my own, I can’t really comprehend how those who are truly struggling live. Seeing how little it took to please these kids opened my eyes to a whole new perspective that I wish everyone else could understand, too.

~ Hannah is an 11th grader from Woodland Hills, California. She is an active leader in the Los Angeles Young Judaea community.

Today (Thursday) was probably the most impactful day of this service trip. So far as a group, we have observed and learned about homelessness, community, and environmental importance. Today we were exposed to the consequences of domestic violence. However, these consequences seemed nothing like consequences. I personally played with 4-11 year olds for the majority of the day and I would have never guessed that they had been dealing with a tough and untraditional life. They were the happiest kids who were not only disciplined, but were genuinely respectful of themselves and each other. While playing games with them, I closely observed the way they would talk to each other/the way they acted individually. I came to the conclusion that perhaps these kids might not even be aware of their sensitive lives, yet they still view the Alexandria House as a safe home and a privilege. One of the activities consisted of each child expressing their personal goals for the new and upcoming year. They surprisingly all said that they would love to be able to learn things like math, science, or a foreign language, and they wish to travel the world some day. When they were expressing these personal goals, I felt not only lucky to have such an amazing life, but I also felt happy for these kids who were all saved from a very difficult life and will grow to become successful individuals. Overall, this day definitely stood out among the trip and impacted me most in a way that will continue to stick with me for the rest of my life.

~ Shelby is an 11th grader from Miami, Florida

Today when we visited the Alexandria house we started our visit by speaking with the founder of Alexandria house which not only provides temporary housing for abused and homeless women and their children. The center, which is located  in the middle of a residential neighborhood consists of two houses. These two houses also serve  as a community center for the local neighborhood. The Alexandria house also provides care for local children after school and during holidays. We spent the majority of the day assisting them with whatever task needed to be completed, we put away Christmas decorations , organized donated goods to be sold, helped take care of the children being watched and so on. It was very insightful to watch 25+ young Judaeans spend hours on task that the much smaller staff of Alexandria have to do on a daily basis.

~ Zander is an 11th grader from Birmingham, Alabama and this is his second AWB. 

I didn’t start reading the news until I was twenty years old. I’m studying educational policy at Hunter college and I want to change the world. I have always wanted to change the world. But when I was a high-schooler I was focused on the immediate, on grades and drama and how I would get out of my small town. These students take time out of their already busy high school lives to read the news and inform themselves about the issues they care about. They spent the winter break they could have been lounging around the house and binge-watching TV, helping people and learning about how to help people. This AWB involved less short-term service and instead gave the students tools, experience, and knowledge that will help forward their futures in service. This trip was about helping people, but it was more about finding the spark and inspiration to help people for their whole lives. My brother did AWB NOLA last year and enjoyed the experience so much that he’s planning on spending a gap year building houses in New Orleans. Young Judaea is a movement of wonderful people who will change the world with their work. These are so intelligent, passionate, funny, and driven to make change. I’m not sure if Young Judaea molds them to be this way, or if the movement draws such wonderful people, but I am so lucky to have spent a week listening to these students think deeply about the state of the world. I was constantly awestruck by their thoughts and the level of articulation with which they convey them. We, as a Movement are lucky to be carried by this future. I’m excited to see where they end up and grateful for every day I spend with them.

~ Ariel is a Junior at Hunter College and is a veteran staff member at Sprout Lake. She is finishing up a semester as the Adviser for NJ Young Judaea.  Later this month she is heading to Israel for the Nachshon Fellowship.