Piles of trash, debris, destroyed homes, a ghost town lingering in the present day. Believe it or not, this is New Orleans one year after the misfortunate Hurricane Katrina disaster.

After personally going to New Orleans with my family this past summer to help volunteer in the rebuilding process, it was truly disturbing to see the widespread destruction in this area and insolent behavior shown by our government to this community. It's been one entire year and the building process is nowhere near finished.

New Orleans is a city left forgotten. It is our responsibility as citizens of the United States to ensure that this city is properly restored. We cannot tolerate this corruption because it is not fair to the residents of New Orleans.

Many people aren't even going back this area, so why bother spending money for large-scale rebuilding? Well, what about the citizens that are still living there? What about this historic city that was once known for its lively tourism? It's not fair to completely ignore these residents and neglect one of the oldest cities in American history.

The ongoing process to help rejuvenate New Orleans can only be accomplished with the help of volunteers. Although my family only assisted on such a small scale, every person counts. We, as American citizens, should never lose sight on the importance of volunteering within our own community and the country that we have been blessed to live. No city in the United States of America should be left forgotten.

It's been one year since Hurricane Katrina and there is still so much to be done. I hope that people will continue to volunteer in New Orleans to ensure that this city is restored successfully. Although the immediate crisis has surpassed, there is still need for volunteering in the years to come. Leah Murphy Moorpark