By Sherri Drake

Originally appeared in the November 6, 2005 edition of the Commercial Appeal

Ashley Fayne put her feelings of loss and sadness in the wake of Hurricane Katrina on paper Saturday -- and it helped.

Her family and immediate relatives lost everything in the hurricane. Floods destroyed their New Orleans homes.

Fayne, 18, said she's cried until she has run out of tears. Her world hasn't been the same since relocating to Memphis and starting school at Ridgeway High.

She was one of a handful of Katrina victims who spoke to more than 200 Mid-South students at the annual PeaceJam Slam Saturday at the BRIDGES center.

This year's theme centered on the aftermath of Katrina. Through inspiration from the survivors' stories, students worked on sketches, writings, drawings and paintings that will eventually be displayed around Memphis.

"It's all about having compassion for others and then turning that compassion into service and giving back," said Rody Thompson, with BRIDGES.

Using a charcoal stick, Fayne drew a happy face to reflect the memories of her home, "My City." And a sad face for feelings about leaving New Orleans.

Near the images she wrote: "Tears stream down your face when you lose something you can't bear to replace."

"Today, I just felt good knowing people still actually care and they didn't forget about it," Fayne said. "Because, for us, this is for real."

Down the hall, a student choir practiced for a memorial service. They sang: "You are important to me. I need you to survive."

With the help of local artists, including Ephraim Urevbu of Art Village Gallery, the students created the charcoal drawings, some of which will be turned into murals and displayed on the South Main Trolley Tour later this month. They will eventually be auctioned.

A favorite piece Saturday was Orri Croft's drawing of a large eye with a tear flowing into a waterfall under the heading, "N'awlens."

"When (Fayne) was talking about how the levees broke, it made me think about the tears of the people of New Orleans," said Croft, a BRIDGES mentor and Rhodes College sophomore.

BRIDGES is a nonprofit organization that works with young people. Saturday's Slam was the first event in the yearlong PeaceJam international educational program. Nobel Peace Prize laureates work with the youth.

Throughout the BRIDGES Center at 477 N. Fifth in Downtown, students wrote entries for a peace book and sketched drawings that will be turned into tile mosaics to be installed at the Red Cross on Central early next year.

Leonzo Arnold, a Carver High School sophomore, drew the Earth with a Red Cross symbol in the middle and people standing all around the world.

Arnold, 15, said he learned Saturday that the tragedy of the hurricane is very real, even though it happened somewhere else.

"It's not like a tree falling in the woods that didn't make a sound. It made a sound and they're hurting," he said. "Today, I learned I need to help a little bit more."

-- Sherri Drake: 529-2510


Copyright 2005, commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN. All Rights Reserved.