Habitat Sends More Houses down the Mississippi to Hurricane Evacuees
An additional six houses were loaded onto a barge traveling down the Mississippi River this week, bringing the total built frames of Habitat for Humanity's ''Rollin' on the River'' project to 20.
An additional six houses were loaded onto a barge traveling down the Mississippi River this week, bringing the total built frames of Habitat for Humanity's "Rollin' on the River" project to 20.
The Habitat barges have already landed and departed from three cities along the river, including St. Paul, St. Louis and Memphis. Volunteers in each city have put together house frame packages for the larger Operation Home Delivery program, which will deliver the built frames to hurricane evacuees on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
After a successful build involving Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis, the six houses were loaded onto a caravan of FedEx trucks on Monday and driven down to the river. The Habitat team had originally planned to build four houses, but efficient work and an advantage on time increased the outcome to six.
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"The reason we went from four to six houses is our process was so efficient," said Tom Faller of the Memphis Habitat board, in a released statement by Habitat for Humanity. "We were two days ahead of schedule."
Two loaded barges are headed toward Baton Rouge and New Orleans and scheduled for arrival on Nov. 21.
Hurricane-affected regions along the Gulf Coast will also see a delivery of 51 houses which are currently being built on the National Mall until Nov. 18. The several ongoing projects are part of Habitat's Operation Home Delivery, expected to result in 250-300 house frames for hurricane victims. House construction will be completed on site in the Gulf Coast region.
"These numbers are merely the beginning of the necessary response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita," said John Therkelsen, Habitat for Humanity International staff member, in a released statement.
