The Suzette Bonin family -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
The Suzette Bonin family
|
Suzette Bonin lost her home and all of her possessions when Hurricane Rita struck the Gulf Coast. She and her 6-year-old daughter will now have a new home on an old sugarcane field.
|
Building ‘something so awesome’
Suzette Bonin is a natural on a construction site, racking up sweat equity hours toward her house.
“I was married to two carpenters, so I know how to do a lot of stuff,” she said, laughing. “Plus, we’re Cajun. We can figure almost anything out.”
When Hurricane Rita hit, Bonin and her family were living three miles from Vermilion Bay in Henry, Louisiana. Their home was inundated by 17 feet of water, and they lost everything.
“We couldn’t even find our house for a while,” Bonin recalled. “Most of our stuff, we never found.”
Bonin and her 6-year-old daughter, Angelle (other daughter Michelle, 21, lives on her own), were staying in a FEMA trailer until recently, when problems with mold and formaldehyde forced them to move. They’re now in a rental house.
Bonin, who has lived in this area all her life, works at Erath Insurance Agency, and she is quick to preach the importance of being properly insured. “That storm should have taught everybody something,” she said.
On a cold and windy day in March, Bonin is on the site of her home, working alongside a boisterous group of Elderhostel volunteers from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada.
“I love construction,” Bonin said. “You start with nothing and make something so awesome.”
Stopping just long enough to admire the perfectly flat landscape that stretches for miles, she went on: “A lot of people don’t want to live out here in the country, and I don’t know why. I grew up here, and I love it. It’s peaceful.”
It’s not exactly peaceful today, as the shriek of power saws and the banging of hammers punctuates every sentence. But once the six houses are built, Bonin is sure she’ll be right at home.
“I’m sure I’ll know everybody in the area,” she said. “I just don’t know who they are yet.”
Affiliate Information:
Lafayette, Louisiana: 12 homes in Cajun country
Lafayette Habitat for Humanity operates deep in the heart of the Acadiana region of Louisiana—better known simply as Cajun country.
Cajuns have a rich and unique cultural heritage, and are famous for their independent spirit and close ties to the land, friends and families. Many people make their living in this area farming sugarcane, rice and crawfish.
Lafayette HFH has built 21 homes since hurricanes Katrina and Rita wreaked havoc in the late summer of 2005. As part of this year’s Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, the affiliate is starting construction on 12 homes in a rural subdivision near Kaplan in Vermilion Parish.