danger of familiarity breeding contempt, here are a couple pieces of information to awaken the original fervor some of us might have had upon hearing about this poverty in America. In Knott County, Kentucky:
¨ 40% of children live below the poverty line,
which is twice the national average.
¨ What is the poverty line?
For a single mom with 2 kids: $1300/month
For a family of four: $1666/month
Our two groups immersed themselves in the community by working on individual homes and got to know the people that live with this poverty everyday. Working alongside a local pastor, Rick Franklin, our students were able to not only serve the people, but to learn their stories and
enjoy life with them. Twice during the weeks we were in Kentucky, we experienced a local bluegrass night with community members. We danced and ate fried apple pie while the students got to know complete strangers. Plus, I was finally able to have real “Kentucky Fried Chicken” when a family made dinner for us the last night after our work day. Trust me, the restaurant has nothing on that woman’s chicken.
Both groups worked extremely hard and accomplished a lot. All in all, we scraped, primed, and painted an entire house for a family that lives two houses down from Rick Franklin’s church. We dug out trenches at a home to prepare for flood season. We built an 80 foot long, 10 foot high fence along the church’s property to block the sight of a school bus graveyard. We stained two decks, one for the church and one for a woman in the community. And students learned they could change the world just by changing the world of one person. It was a fantastic three weeks!
