September 17, 2005
Worth County-- It's hard to imagine losing everything, moving to another state and starting a new life all over again. Those are things Hurricane Katrina survivors have to face. It's an upward climb to rebuild but the local Boy Scouts are helping to pull them up with a day of relief.
At the early age of 14, Tony Zenon already has to face an upward challenge. "It's gonna be, well to tell you, I really don't know," says Zenon. He doesn't know how hard it'll be for him and his family to rebuild after losing everything to Hurricane Katrina. Tony had to leave many of his friends behind. "So many, it's hard to count," says Zenon.
He hasn't faced many challenges before now. "Well, one like that one, the small one but it was a little taller," says Zenon. But this one is even bigger and he knows that he'll have to take it step by step. "It should be kinda easy. It should be in between," says Zenon. The Boy Scouts are helping to make that climb a little easier for families with a day of relief at Camp Osborne because they know that just like the fifty foot wall, it's a struggle.
"It's a struggle. They are in the middle of a struggle right now," says Boy Scouts leader Steve Lunsford. It's the support of things like a harness and a wall that's giving Katrina survivors the strength to keep climbing. "You wanted to give up one time but the people around you didn't let you give up. We made sure that you got to the top of the wall," says Lunsford.
It's not very easy but getting to the top is the goal for Katrina survivors. "If they've lost everything, if you're at the bottom there's only one way out and that's up so we're hoping we can take them on up," says Lunsford. "Thank you very much and I just appreciate it," says Zenon.
Tony has a grip on things after life gave him a challenge. "It was unexpected. We just thought we were going back home," says Zenon. It's a challenge he overcame once he got to the top.
"Feels good," says Zenon.
There were about 180 registered evacuees at the Relief Day Camp. They enjoyed lots of activities including camp cooking, fire building, fishing and even a dunking booth.
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