Yes, its going on two years now. I can't believe how time flies when your buried in your work. I am here at Waveland, Ms - ground zero for Hurricane Katrina. I came down originally with a semi load of supplies from a little town in Illinois called Thompsonville - population 600 and barely a nickle to rub between their fingers but they filled that semi. Landing at Fred's Parking lot and working for a retired Episcopal priest by the name of Pete Jones - I was overwhelmed by the enormity of this disaster. I left after three weeks and came back to stay. Almost two years hence I now run my own disaster relief operation here. We run upto 200 volunteers per day and work on upto 40 work orders per week. We are no nearer a solution now than we were two years ago. Not that the thousands of volunteers have not worked hard - but the response to Katrina has been convoluted. The government has attemped to privatize the response by providing funds for materials but no monies for labor thus making it mandatory that the home be completed by volunteers. But after two years - how can you keep asking volunteers to keep moving forward without some fiscal assistance. Teams have come down time and time again - at enormous expense. And skilled labor is premium - most of the volunteers are non skilled but have big hearts. There were 350,000 damaged or destroyed homes - even the government grants, for the most part, will not cover contract labor for repairs. It may cover some of the labor costs - not all of them. Someone suggested that the response was akin to sending smart bombs in on dumb missions. And, yes, there is truth to that. The entire response was a best guess experimental "lets try this" approach as we, as a country, have never faced the enormity of a disaster of this size in our own backyard. It was always in someone elses yard. What we need now is more and more volunteers now that the Phase I and Phase II grants are coming down the pike along with other grants from Salvation Army and Red Cross. What we desperately need are skilled volunteers - even the retired who can do little more than "point" and "direct". A skilled construction foreman can perform miracles with an unskilled but willing crew. So, if you are looking to do something different with your vacation this year - think about us. Volitourists are the rage. You get to assist with the response and tour the area at the same time. And we have a lot to offer. Looking forward to hearing from you. Kathleen Johnson Director: Katrina Relief http://www.wavelandcitizensfund.org