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Katrina: The Debris // Newcomers

Jesse Hardman
In June over 900 Habitat for Humanity volunteers gathered in New Orleans East to build houses for the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Lots of people who visit New Orleans today are surprised to find the city in such good shape. The rebuilding effort has been long, arduous, and largely successful in most areas (with a few notable exceptions, like the Lower 9th Ward).

New Orleans would not be where it is today without the students, church groups, retirees, professional organizations and lone good souls who gave their time and energy to rebuilding. At least a million people, by one count, and likely many millions. Newcomers poured into the city after the storm, and many became new New Orleanians.

We stop by a Habitat for Humanity 10th anniversary "build-a-thon" in New Orleans East to see what it sounds like when 900 volunteers take over one small street to build houses.

Reporter Charles Maldonado from The Lens stops by for a Katrina fact-check. Was 80 percent of New Orleans really under water after the levees broke? 

Credit Jesse Hardman
Jeanne Firth is a graduate student researching celebrity philanthropy.

Jesse Hardman talks to economics researcher Jeanne Firth about the pros and cons of celebrity philanthropy in post-Katrina New Orleans. 

And Eve Abrams talks to some old timers about getting along (or not) with the newcomers.

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