“V-Day” events, the French Quarter Festival, and the Strawberry Festival had to wait. On this weekend what was more important to some hurricane survivors were much smaller events with more important goals that mattered.

Like a meeting of the New Orleans Survivors Council, a small group with huge aspirations. Since 2006, the council has met on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. in an old, gutted ninth ward church to map out plans for bringing New Orleans hurricane survivors home and providing much-needed services and resources of empowerment to the community. One of those goals is to restore this historic church used as a meeting place. For more info on the New Orleans Survivors Council call (504)655-2715

Another happening for Katrina survivors took place Saturday in another ninth ward location, at St. Claude and Tupelo St., which has become home to the ACORN Lower Ninth Ward Center. There on Saturday, around 200 survivors attended the first annual Rebuilding Fair put on by New Orleans ACORN.

Here Rachel James, a winner in one of the raffles held during the Rebuilding Fair, proudly shows off her prize – a Mother’s Day cake:

With no guest speakers, live music, or carnival rides, just being there at hurricane survivor events in New Orleans and the gratifying feeling of being among others who survived and are trying to help rebuild lives and homes matters much – and means a lot to them.