A day at Sampson Park

I left our day at the park feeling like I made a difference. Since this was my first event with AFSC, I wasn’t sure what to expect from not only the 9^th Ward, but the kids we were supposed to be reaching out to. I had never been to that part of New Orleans, so I was shocked to see how deserted the area still was although Katrina passed years ago. It pained me to find out that broken glass, trash, and bullet casings around the park were what the kids were used to. I was a little intimidated by my lack of “street experience” and wasn’t sure what I could possible teach them. Once things started, I was reminded that no matter how chaotic their surroundings were, they were still kids. I didn’t know how natural talking to them was going to be until halfway through the workshop. They were more attentive than I expected and it felt good to see them listening to our list of peaceful tactics to deal with their anger. I enjoyed helping them make their Peace T-Shirts and look forward to the next event

Asia-Vinae Palmer

My experience at Samson Park was typical. I deal with many events where the environment is the way it was there. I originally thought the turnout would be bad. I’m glad a lot of  kids showed up but I feel that the message wasn’t getting across to them. They were more focused on other things and starting conflict amongst themselves. Most of the kids there were positive and had a good attitude, others not so much. The next time we do an event such as this one I know we’ll have better ways of pushing the point of us coming. 

Austin Smith              

Pictures from the glorious day