For most students, spring break means an entire week tanning on a beach far from New England, but for a group of medical students, spring break will consist of giving back to those in need.
Seven University of Massachusetts medical school students will travel to New Orleans during their one-week spring break in March to help a family rebuild a home they lost during Hurricane Katrina.
Bonnie Vallie, the trip’s organizer and a first-year medical school student here, has been to New Orleans four times to help out Katrina victims, her first trip being in December 2005.
“Since then, I have been going on my own about every six to eight months with various organizations that are rebuilding,” said Vallie.
Her trip in December 2005 lasted about six weeks, a lot longer than the latest scheduled venture to Louisiana. Vallie originally thought up the idea to go back down to New Orleans during UMass students’ one-week break and told a number of her classmates about the idea.
Anne Gilroy, a UMass professor of cell biology and anatomy, asked to join Vallie and her peers during their trip. The seven medical school students include Thomas and Lacey Peteet, Emily Davie, Naomi Lawrence-Reid, Claudio Debarros and Genieve Berrasvro.
“I’ve been working with a friend, Kristen Seeley, who I met during my first trip to New Orleans to organize this trip. Kristen works with the non-profit organization Building Better Communities New Orleans (BBC NOLA),” said Vallie.
BBC NOLA doesn’t just work with families who might need aid and support rebuilding there homes, but also their lives.
The students traveling with Vallie will be helping to gut, drywall and paint the house of a family they won’t know until they arrive.
“Each time that I have gone, I’ve been amazed at the number of volunteers who are continuing to provide their time, effort and compassion for this region,” added Vallie.
During her last trip in June 2007, Vallie learned that it will take up to 20 years to restore the city to what it once was. Tourist areas such as the French Quarter and the Garden District have been some of the first to be restored completely.
