ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <title>The Color Purple  Meet the Families  Alice Walker</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/style.css" type="text/css" charset="utf-8" /> <!--[if IE 6]><link rel="stylesheet" href="css/style_ie6.css" type="text/css" /><![endif]--> <!--[if IE 7]><link rel="stylesheet" href="css/style_ie7.css" type="text/css" /><![endif]--> </head> <body id="families"> <div id="wrapper"> <div id="header2"> <div id="title_city"> <img src="images/title_atlanta.gif" alt="MEET THE FAMILIES WHOSE HOMES ARE BEING REBUILT WITH DONATIONS RECEIVED FROM THE PRODUCING TEAM, ALICE WALKER AND CREATIVE TEAM OF THE COLOR PURPLE." /></div> <div id="cont"> <!-- Donald and Tanya --> <div class="title_city"> <img src="images/title_dontan.gif" alt="Donald and Tanya" /></div> <div class="divider_top"></div> <p><img class="famPic" src="images/pic_dontan.jpg" alt="Picture of Donald and Tanya" />Donald and Tanya were married on New Year's Day in 2005, just months before Hurricane Katrina hit. Though unfathomable to believe, Katrina wasn't the biggest disaster the newlyweds would face that year. Tanya nearly lost her own life during childbirth months after their wedding, which ultimately ended in the loss of the child. Tanya was put on bed rest for the next several months, including August, the month Katrina hit. <br /><br />Before the storm arrived, the two packed up their belongings and evacuated to Donald's niece's house in Florida. They weren't the only ones seeking shelter though; they shared two homes with 25 other evacuees. <br /><br />Later, they relocated to Picayune, where they stayed in a tent for six and a half weeks. Donald and Tonya along with two children, Katherine, 17, and Kolby, 19, picked up for a third time and settled in a family member's tool shed. Two air mattresses served as their only amenity. Eventually a FEMA trailer arrived to their rescue, but not before their first child together, Kadden, entered the world. Kadden is now three and has been raised in a FEMA trailer. <br /><br />Just when things were starting to look up, the family was struck by another misfortune. Donald, who was planning on fixing up the house himself, severely injured his back moving the new sheetrock into their home. Test results showed that Donald needed extensive back surgery and only had a 50 percent chance of walking normally again. The family's need to return home continued to increase as Kadden was diagnosed of Asperger's. Tanya is convinced the formaldehyde in the FEMA trailer caused Kadden's illness. <br /><br />The family is currently split with Donald, Tanya and Kadden residing in one FEMA trailer and Kolby and Katherine occupying a second trailer. "You can't raise a family in two trailers," Tanya said. "It's tearing this family apart." <br /><br />The family's resilience is beyond inspiring, and they just hope each day that their family will soon be reunited. Of all things she is most looking forward to, Tanya says, "I just want to be able to watch a movie together."</p> <div class="clear">&nbsp;</div> <!-- Myrtle --> <div class="title_city"> <img src="images/title_myrtle.gif" alt="Myrtle" /></div> <div class="divider_top"></div> <p><img class="famPic" src="images/pic_myrtle.jpg" alt="Picture of Myrtle" />People of all ages have always claimed, "It's the little things that make a difference." Some take it with a grain of salt, while others live by it.<br /><br /> For Myrtle, an elderly, church-going woman with diabetes, this "little thing" floated to her as she waded in rising, chest-high flood waters. The material: a shard of someone else's broken mirror. She cleverly used the scrap to reflect the sun in order to create a homing beacon for passing helicopters to see. For nearly eight hours, no one picked up the signal. As she was quickly being submerged, a passing helicopter detected the makeshift flare, which then relayed the signal to a rescue boat in the water nearby.<br /><br /> Myrtle Jones was saved.<br /><br /> Unfortunately, her journey from here took a turn for the worse. She soon became immobile because of back injuries sustained during her plight. Sleeping on I-10 and concrete floors over the next few days worsened her condition. However, Myrtle would stay within herself throughout the traumatizing experience.<br /><br /> "I learned in a time like this, you can only depend on the Lord," she said.<br /><br /> And that's what she did. She prayed for angels everyday, and soon enough her prayers were answered. The "volunteer angels" helped her onto a plane, and she said to herself, "Lord, wherever you put my feet, that's where I'm going to stay."<br /><br /> She found herself in Austin, TX where a local couple, Jim and Louise, took her in and eventually got her a permanent doctor for her health conditions. After residing in Austin for three and a half years, Myrtle decided it was time to head home.<br /><br /> On July 1, 2009, she wandered back to her unfinished home in the St. Bernard Parish. The first person Myrtle contacted upon returning was her pastor. She had dedicated her life to the church after her husband passed away in 2001 and wanted that familiar feeling of stability back in her life.<br /><br /> The former Sunday school teacher says her return to the church will be delayed, however. When asked why, she sassily replied, "I have to look presentable. I haven't had a perm in my hair in weeks!"<br /><br /> After all, it is the little things that matter. </p> <div class="clear">&nbsp;</div> <div id="btn_donate"> <a href="http://www.stbernardproject.org/v158/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=221&Itemid=38"><img src="images/btn_donate.gif" alt="Donate" /></a> </div> <div id="footer"> <a href="http://colorpurple.com"><img src="images/footer_url.gif" alt="Visit The Color Purple's official website" /></a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </body> </html>