'Truly amazing': Amish volunteers deliver latest home to residents who lost theirs to Ida
Nathan Trosclair of Dulac has endured a lot of tragedy in recent months. In August, Hurricane Ida destroyed the home he and his father lived in. After the storm, three of his relatives died, and his father, John Earnest Trosclair Sr., had to undergo major surgery.
"It's like looking through a tunnel and not seeing the light yet," Nathan Trosclair said. "It was like every day after the storm I was asking [God], 'Where're you at?' "
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Hope arrived Wednesday, when he received the keys to a new home built by Pennsylvania-based nonprofit Mennonite Disaster Service. It is the last of six homes built since October, with more to come this fall.
"This is wonderful," Nathan Trosclair said at a dedication ceremony for the home. "Truly, truly amazing."
Overall, Mennonite Disaster Service is building 10 homes and repairing 40 more in southern Terrebonne Parish, one of the areas hardest hit by the Category 4 hurricane. The group has also completed about three dozen home demolitions.
The effort is funded by an $850,000 grant from the Bayou Community Foundation’s Bayou Recovery Fund for Hurricane Ida Relief. The grant money is used to buy building materials, and construction labor is provided free by volunteers. Homeowners also contribute insurance or FEMA money received toward construction costs, and appliances are donated by the nonprofit group Rebuilding Together Bayou.
The two- and three-bedroom homes in Dulac were designed and built for storm resiliency as part of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes' Strong Homes Initiative, officials said. The homes, which cost on average about $112,000 to construct, are rated for 160-mph winds and are elevated far above FEMA requirements.
The Amish people volunteering for the program live simple, agricultural lives and set their work schedules in Dulac around their lives back home. They headed home to Pennsylvania on Friday and plan to return to Dulac in October.
"We care about people," said Chris Stoltzfus, 48, an Amish volunteer from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. "And hurting people are usually open to the message of the gospel."
The nonprofit rotates 35 people to help with rebuilding homes. The Amish don't use modern technology like cars or electricity, so other volunteers aid in those aspects of the work.
About 35 families await new homes or a return to their former houses after repairs are complete, said Mike Balog, 65, a project manager with Holy Family Catholic Church in Dulac.
Many people originally applied for the homes. A checklist was created to prioritize who needed help most. Criteria included whether the person was disabled, homeless, displaced, widowed or elderly. From there, a case worker met with applicants.
The Amish volunteers divided the work into seasons so they can head home for summer, when work on the farm is busiest. In the winter, it gets really cold, so it's nicer to work down here, so that sets the building season from October through May.
"You tell somebody when it's 10 degrees in Lancaster they can come down here and work down here where it's 70 degrees, it's not hard getting volunteers," Stoltzfus said.
Anyone, including local residents, can volunteer through the group's website, MDS.org.
Correction
This story has been updated to correct Nathan Trosclair's last name.
This article originally appeared on The Courier: They lost their home to Hurricane Ida. Volunteers built them a new one
