St. Joseph students assist hurricane-torn school

Intermountain Catholic

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Desmond (left) and Deshawn Sanders escaped the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and are thankful for their new home in Utah.IC photo by Christine Young

OGDEN — St. Joseph Catholic High School juniors Desmond and Deshawn Sanders were watching Luney Toones® cartoons in New Orleans, La., when suddenly their lives were turned upside down and changed forever. Their family lost everything as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

All three St. Joseph Catholic School campuses raised funds in the Jingle Bell Run to assist Our Lady of Prompt Succor Central School in Chalmette, La., devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

The category four hurricane struck Aug. 29, 2005, and Our Lady of Prompt Succor is still in need of repair and supplies. Classrooms are still without walls. The school is a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school located in St. Bernard Parish, the area hit hardest by Katrina. Our Lady of Prompt Succor, which is French for "hasten to help," had 700 students prior to Katrina, and now there are only 300 students. As a result of the devastation, many people have not returned to the area because there is no available housing.

When the principal of Our Lady of Prompt Succor found out it had been adopted by the St. Joseph Schools, he did not know what to ask for because they need so many things.

"I think this is a good opportunity for all of us to think about the things we have that we take for granted every day," said Nathan Thomlinson, St. Joseph Catholic High School vice principal, at a Jingle Bell Kick Off assembly Jan. 16. "You all have books and paper for your assignments. The students in this Louisiana district do not have these items."

During Catholic Schools Week, St. Joseph students will bring in pennies for paper on Monday, nickels for basics Tuesday, dimes for toiletries Wednesday, quarters for clothing Thursday, and Friday it will be bucks for books.

The Jingle Bell Run is part of a diocese-wide project in the Diocese of Salt Lake City in which seven schools in Louisiana have been adopted.

The Sanders family adopted Utah as their new home with the help of Craig and Kate Keys of Ogden, who took a bus to Louisiana to rescue as many people as they could from the Superdome. The Sanders were one of those families. Maddie Keys is in the eighth grade at St. Joseph Middle School.

After Katrina, the Sanders family fled to the Superdome for a couple of days. Their mother, Wanda, desperate to flee, learned the Keys family had an extra room they could use in Utah until they got back on their feet. Desmond and Deshawn had never been outside of Louisiana and did not know what to expect.

"We learned how beautiful the world is along the way," said Deshawn. "People donated everything to us including our beds and a washer and dryer. They even made sure we had a good Christmas."

Desmond and Deshawn lived in a poor neighborhood that was filled with anger and crime, and said they realize there was no future for them. Now the Sanders have their own apartment, and Desmond and Deshawn have jobs and are helping their mother pay the bills.

"Before Katrina, I was just some poor, lost kid," said Deshawn. "Now I can dream of becoming a computer engineer and making my family proud."

Desmond was always depressed before coming to Utah, now he smiles every day and knows there is a better world out there for him.