One Week Later

Grandforks Herald.com

One week later, Gulfport, Miss., Child Care Facility Reopens
By Doug BarberSun Herald

GULFPORT - Rachel Vivian sat at the table, eating waffles and apple slices while drinking some apple juice. Twins Christopher and Caitlyn Swinford played with a toy house. Max Ridge manipulated a Darth Tater head, and six children watched videos.

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, eight days after Hurricane Katrina, Twin Oaks Child Development Center provided an oasis -- yes, a refuge -- for 12 children and three babies amid the carnage of the outside world.

Owner Susan Dosher spraypainted a sign on the corner of Pine Street and Pass Road in Gulfport, telling everyone that Twin Oaks would open at 6:30 a.m. Monday, a week after the hurricane.

"We found we had power here Wednesday morning, and I tried to assess what I could do," Dosher said. "I figured it would be a place for people to stay. April (Daniels) stayed with me during the storm. We had to get Betty's (Bailey) stuff.

"Then we thought there was no reason why we couldn't open. The girls needed to work. The children need a place to go that is familiar, and normal, and this is it. In a child's life, consistency is something they need to grow."

Nine children came to Twin Oaks on Monday, and the number had grown to 12 on Tuesday. April Daniels was cradling one as she walked around the center. She and her husband, a policeman in Pass Christian, had lost everything.

Fellow workers Betty Bailey and Jerrica Savoy likewise lost everything. Chad Blanchard, Dosher's son, was working with the children and wondering if he would be attending Gulfport High for his junior year or going to Meridian. Another worker, Shamika Allen, was scheduled to do her student teaching in the fall after attending William Carey College. Likewise, her immediate future is unclear.

"Most of our kids are out of town," Dosher said. "We called around. Some of the kids came in cars, some of them found us and rode up on bicycles. "I wish the schools could open quickly. Then the parents could go to work, and the kids could go to school."

The children, from six weeks to 12 years old, showed the resilience of their age. "The trees fell down," Maddy Ridge, age 3, said as she and her six-year-old brother Max took turns talking. "We couldn't sleep in our rooms. We made our own fire. We had hot dogs."

Some of the other children talked about the monster trees falling as they took a break from watching "101 Dalmatians." Through it all, their eyes still sparkled and they showed that vivaciousness of youth. And then they returned to the welcome routine, playing with toys and watching TV. Workers hugging children, children hugging children.

Eight days after the storm, a small group of children were still able to act like children -- again.