From the site manager....

     The whole world became aware of the heartbreaking destruction of much of New Orleans, and the subsequent displacement of thousands of residents caused by hurricane Katrina. While much attention was given to southern Mississippi and the New Orleans area, another monster was chugging through the Gulf of Mexico with its sights set on the less populated farm and ranch lands of Southern Louisiana and extreme southeast Texas. Since the number of people affected wasn't nearly on the scale of Katrina, Rita paled in the media. But the devastation done to the farmers and ranchers of Acadiana will affect a unique culture for generations to come. In fact, it may be that the Cajun way of life will never again be the same.

     Hopeful Haven Equine Rescue Organization became involved in assisting livestock owners as soon as Katrina hit the southern coast. A network of farms with stall and camping/RV spaces was set up for evacuees. We had about a thousand horse capacity in this network. 8 families with  horses took advantage of the emergency relief. We placed 19 horses along with their owners, and much appreciation is due those who helped our neighbors in their urgent time of need.

     When Rita hit however, the result was different. The farmers and ranchers of the Acadiana parishes prepared for the hurricane by doing what had always worked before...get out of the path of the hurricane and prepare to come back and clean up the mess. Rita blew through with a fury, and the ranchers (who were twenty to thirty miles inland) thought the worst was over. But Rita wasn't done yet.

     After the winds eased, the Gulf of Mexico surged inland and swallowed up everything in sight. Farms, towns, just planted sugarcane fields, cows, horses...everything. Hank Moss of Erath had hay and grass hanging from the power lines that run down his road. It wasn't put there by the wind, but by the Gulf waters that inundated the whole area. His three generation farmhouse, with cypress cabinets and ceilings, barns, and fields looked a lot like a dumpsite.

     Hopeful Haven saw that in addition to providing emergency stalls, it would be most useful to the ranchers of south Louisiana, to provide them with feed, hay and supplies. The donations have been outstanding. (Please see our Thank You page) It is our goal to keep up the effort as long as the need is there.                                                                                                                       Darrell Barlow-11.06.05

The following is a brief interview with Debra Barlow-president of Hopeful Haven Equine Rescue Organization..

How many trips has Hopeful Haven made since beginning relief efforts?

Debra: Eight trips have been made as of November 6th.

 

How much feed, hay and supplies have been shipped so far?

Debra: Approximately 80 tons of  feed and supplies.

How are the donated materials distributed?

Debra: We stock the supplies at our Point of Distribution (Curlis Langlenais' farm in Erath,LA) and dole them out according to how many head of horses or cattle each rancher has. The ranchers go to the distribution point and pick up the feed and supplies, and on occasion, the feed is delivered by some of the local guys.

Is there anything that would really help further this effort?

Debra: More volunteers on this end (Shreveport LA) to join the convoys and help deliver feed to Vermillion Parish. And it looks like I'm going to need another set of tires before too long...

Coming soon on the next update:

Comprehensive list of Donations

Details on individual convoy deliveries

Press releases featuring Hopeful Haven's disaster relief