Houma native rallies Natchitoches community to provide relief to her hometown following Ida

Charmaine Braxton stayed in contact with her parents as they rode out the storm on the east side of Houma, but they quickly had to cut the conversation short as Ida’s winds began tearing off the roof of her childhood home. 

“I’m having a fit because I’m so far away from them, and I couldn’t get to them,” she remembered. “They called me back and told me what was going on: they were moving furniture into their garage area to try and salvage as much furniture as they possibly could.” 

The day after the life-altering Category 4 made landfall, Braxton, who lives 250 miles away in Natchitoches, traveled to her hometown to help her parents with cleanup and recovery.  “I was just amazed [when traversing through the area]. Out of all the storms we did withstand, I think this is the storm that did Houma the worst,” she said. “As I was riding through, I saw people didn’t have roofs over their homes. They were sitting on porches, and they just had a look on their face like they didn’t know where to start or what to do.” 

Braxton says she then had an epiphany, realizing she could pull together resources from her current town to provide relief for those devastated by Ida. She had a friend design a flyer of coveted items and posted it on social media. She designated her husband Calvin’s used car lot, East Natchitoches Elementary, Crawford Elementary in Acadia as drop-off locations, and donations came pouring in. Two Natchitoches businesses — Bank of Montgomery and Rhodes Realty — which started up their own donation drives, decided to join forces with Braxton. 

Dr. Raja Talluri, owner of Buchiki’s in Houma and a family friend, was all for hosting the supply giveaway, Braxton said, even though his convenience store suffered damage. So on Tuesday, Sept. 7, Braxton and other volunteers rolled into the gas station parking lot with trucks full of water, cleaning products, toiletries, hygiene products, baby food, diapers and other supplies. Braxton said the group was able to help hundreds during the massive giveaway. “It was amazing. My husband and I did that together. It was really overwhelming, and he pushed me through it,” she said. “It was a real good feeling.” 

“I had two elderly ladies that drove by. They said they hadn’t eaten in two days. I had prepared a meal for my volunteers, so we ended up feeding those two ladies too…That was also a blessing,” Braxton shared. 

A teacher at Natchitoches Junior High, the Houma native also gives back through her business Kultivations — which aims to broaden horizons, provide opportunities and mentor the youth. “In watching the youth, I wanted to do something so that I educate the whole student,” she said. “And when I say educate the whole student, I’m saying socially, mentally and intellectually.” 

Braxton is teaming up with a longtime friend for another supply giveaway. More details can be found below: 

Photos from the Houma supply giveaway: 

Photos submitted