The third phase of the “Home Repair Program”, the project of the Order of Malta’s Federal Association to renovate the New Orleans homes destroyed by the Katrina hurricane in August 2005, will take off in September.

In the first two stages, from 2005 to 2007, 26 families were able to move back to their homes in Treme, Gentilly and New Orleans East thanks to the work of over 400 of the Order’s members and volunteers from all over the United States.

The town is still feeling the effects of the hurricane which damaged 80% of the urban area. Entire districts were razed to the ground and some 700 people lost their lives.

The third phase of the reconstruction programme will cover seven months, from September 2008 to March 2009. 25 volunteers a week are needed to help rebuild the Esplanade Ridge section, very near the downtown New Orleans French Quarter.