By Doris Maricle

dmaricle@americanpress.com

PHOTOS @ Sister Corps 1-3

IOWA – To see the Sister Corps in action, is to witness an amazing display that combines Rosie the Riveter with an episode of “Fixer Upper” as these seasoned women swoop into hurricane ravaged homes and make it new again for grateful homeowners.

The group of more than 40 motivated women, ranging in age from 60 to 80 and hailing from all over the United States, are in Southwest Louisiana this weekend to help local families rebuild after back-to-back hurricanes damaged their homes. Six homes in Iowa and Lake Charles are on the group’s project list.

Sister Corps National Co-Director Sherry Gibbons of Texas said the group is ready to roll up their sleeves and assist families who have suffered hurricane damage by removing debris, ripping out and installing dry wall, removing flooring and other minor repairs.

“It’s been more than three months since the hurricanes and a lot of work is yet to be done,” Gibbons said. “It’s hard to believe what some of these people are going through. Anything we can do to help is worth it.”

Gibbons said the group of “sisters” respond whole-heartedly and in full force to natural disasters including hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, wildfires and flash floods. The group also focuses on environmental projects, helping women’s shelters and traveling in vintage campers.

“We started this group three-and-a-half years ago after Hurricane Harvey,” Leann Moore of Texas said. “Our hearts just came together to try to help communities.”

Moore said the group are not first responders and only arrive once an area has been deemed safe for residents to return.

Lisa Ellick of South Carolina said the group goes into areas often forgotten once the initial storm has passed.

“Many of these neighborhoods still look like the disaster just happened,” she said.

Putting blood, sweat and tears into a project and getting their hands dirty is part of restoring hope to disaster victims, she said.

“When women do a project for the first time, they walk away saying their lives have changed just by helping others,” Moore said.

“I just get joy out of helping others who are suffering and that our government has left behind,” said “Kitsy” Parrish, a retired teacher from Kentucky.

Sally Hurst, a farmer from Virginia enjoys the comraderie of the group and helping others.

“It’s a fantastic group of women all of who are talented in their own way,” Hurst said. “It’s just too much fun to work with them. If you can do something really good for someone else and still get to hang around a group of women that are fun, too, then it’s just good all around.”

The group working in Southwest Louisiana include volunteers from New Hampshire, Washington, Virginia, South Carolin and Texas.

The group work eight hour day shifts cleaning up and repairing homes. They return to hotel rooms and campgrounds at night for fellowship.

Walter Guillory, 73, of Iowa was grateful as he watched the group of women rip out dry wall and haul debris away.

Guillory, who has lived in the home for 22 years, has seen four hurricanes but Hurricane Laura caused the most damage and was quickly followed by Hurricane Delta which added insult to injury.

“It damaged the whole house….just about everything is gone,” Guillory said standing near a pile of debris in his front yard. “I just felt like tearing it down and moving away, but my wife wouldn’t let me.”

Guillory said seeing the group of women working to clean and repair his home was the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to him.

“I never thought this would ever happen to me,” he said. “I’m overwhelmed and looking forward to being backing home soon.”

Guillory evacuated to Mississippi with his family and returned home to find the roof completely off the two-story home and most of the its contents and interior destroyed.

“Everyone was crying when we saw the house,” he said.