Friday Dec. 16, 2005:

Gifts were distributed to 10 families living in a shelter for battered women and 70 children in the most impoverished area of Abbeville. Only six of us were taken in to this extremely dangerous and destitue area, accompanied by a police escort. Our cameras were not there. Mark Bertrand describes this most unbelievable experience- the children picked 3 toys each from a flatbed and clutched them to their chests like they were gold. A man who was there with the children (sadly, the only father figure, the rest were mothers) made sure each child went back to say thank you. Mothers came up to Mark and the others in tears, saying they never thought anyone would come there and give their children gifts. (Especially not 6 crazy white guys, as Mark puts it...) Four of the women who approached Mark told him they were from New Orleans. They could not imagine they would ever return home.