The laughter reverberates from the shaded grass next to the red brick walls of Allen Chapel AME Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Seven-year-old Marvin, with his thick glasses and his orange tee shirt, chases Nancy around in a circle. Nicholas and Wy-Lece giggle away.
"Duck, duck, goose," screams Marvin, his little legs moving as fast as they can. He lets loose that phrase over and over. "Duck, duck, goose. Duck, duck, goose."
Four weeks ago, most of these children were forced to endure Hurricane Katrina and the catastrophic flooding of New Orleans. Some sat on sweltering roofs for days on end waiting for helicopters and boats to rescue them. Others huddled in the heat and stench at that city's Superdome with little to eat or drink. Still others have come to Baton Rouge after Hurricane Rita cleaved its way into cities like Lake Charles in western Louisiana.
Today, however, the children participate in the first day of a program called "Ready to Go” that is the product of a collaboration between the International Rescue Committee and the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, which invited the IRC to Louisiana to lend its expertise in responding to emergencies. The activity is modeled after IRC "Child Friendly Spaces" programs that are implemented in such conflict zones as Sudan, Afghanistan, Liberia and Indonesia. The purpose: to begin the process of healing and learning for children affected by the devastation. For a couple of hours on a lazy Louisiana afternoon, the children are afforded the space to play and have fun.
Amy Morrison and Katie Chatelain, both juniors majoring in education at Louisiana State University, have offered to help lead "Ready to Go" activities. "Ever since the hurricane hit, we've wanted to do something to help out," Said Morrison. "This is a very important opportunity for me to do something positive with these children." The students are part of a group of 35 volunteers working with the program, including LSU faculty and other staff members.
In the near-term it is hoped that up to 20 shelters will participate in the program. Already other youngsters from nearby Green's Chapel AME church have visited the program. So far, the children are taking to the volunteers as though they have known them for years. "The beginning is always a delicate time," says Janet Shriberg, psycho-social adviser for the IRC who helped lead the day's activities. "All we want to do today is get to know each other, get comfortable and stimulate creativity."
IRC educational adviser Rachel McKinney who runs the program, hopes it will serve several goals. "First we want to encourage vulnerable children to stay in school," McKinney said. "We also want to identify children who are not enrolled but could be brought into the formal educational system with our support. In addition, we want to seek out those young people who will not easily integrate into formal systems. They will need alternative opportunities."
By 5 p.m., the children are neither exhausted nor ready to leave. Seven-year-old Nicholas who has come to Baton Rouge as an evacuee from Hurricane Rita is still intent on playing an impromptu game of catch with a tennis ball and a net. "Do I have to go?" he asks. He need not worry. "Ready to Go" will be open for business tomorrow at the same time.
Read a profile of Rachel McKinney and more about children's education programs in Louisiana on the IRC blog.
