Newman Holiday “Wrap-up” – Gifts for Lafayette Academy Students

[FULL STORY]

In the spirit of community service that is so central to the School’s core values, Newman middle and upper school advisories are “adopting” elementary school students from Lafayette Academy Charter for the holidays. Each advisory receives a “wish list” of gift ideas for one or two students, and the advisees are joining together to make the students’ holiday wishes come true. Together, the advisories are ticking off the gifts on the wish lists of more than 86 Lafayette students.

On Tuesday, November 30, a 5th grade ambassador from Lafayette Charter spoke to the Middle School about her life and how the budding partnership between Newman and Lafayette Charter is important. The little girl eloquently shared her story of her family and their journey from displacement after Katrina, to homelessness, to now having employment and an apartment. Her story helped shed a little light on the world that lies outside our gates. She was kind enough to give us a copy of her well-written and moving speech, which we have included for you to enjoy:

Hello Newman Students and faculty. I am 10 years old and am in the 5th grade at Lafayette Academy Charter School. I have attended Lafayette since the 3rd grade. I was born in New Orleans and lived here until Hurricane Katrina struck. We evacuated from New Orleans to Canada, where we lived happily for 2 years, until our visa expired. Then we moved to Georgia where we lived in a house with my grandmother and cousins.

 

In 2008 we moved back to New Orleans from Georgia because of my grandmother’s poor health. We lived in a pink house on Urhquart. We lived with my Aunt who had a drug problem. Due to my aunt’s addiction, my mother did not want us living in that type of environment. So we had to move to the Salvation Army Shelter on S. Claiborne. There was no privacy. The security guards frisked us and checked all of our things. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. The four of us slept in two twin beds. We had to share the bathroom with strangers. The food was not good. It was not something you would want to eat. We shared a small room, but we did not have a TV until a few months later when my grandfather bought us a small one. We lived there for a year and a half.

 

There were many times when I felt scared and alone. My mother cried every day because we had no car or money. But we were grateful for what we received. The rules at the Shelter required us to leave by 6 a.m. every morning with all our belongings. We were not allowed to return each day until 4:30 p.m. This forced my mother to carry our 4 suitcases with her every day, just walking around.

She got a job working as a cashier and Customer Service representative at Winn-Dixie. Then we were able to move to transitional housing where we lived for a year. Now we have our own apartment.

 

I want you to know how grateful all the students at Lafayette are for your donations. I know that you are all very fortunate to have nice houses, cars and clothes. And even though it may appear that we are different, we are more alike than you think.