Handy Nuns Rehabilitate Katrina-Damaged Homes

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Groups of nuns from all over the United States and Canada are helping rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

On a recent day in the Gentilly section of New Orleans, Sister Paula Gonzalez was dressed in sweats and sneakers as she directed a fellow nun installing insulation in a home that has stood empty since it was flooded in the 2005 storm.

The 78-year-old from Cincinnati is one of 86 nuns who took part in the latest edition of Nuns Build. The program brings nuns to New Orleans to help rebuild houses that were flooded, but are still structurally sound.

There are thousands of such houses in the area. Many were owned by elderly or poor people without flood insurance and left with no means of rebuilding.