This Acadia Parish Man Drove 19 Hours To Make Gumbo For Michigan Flood Victims
Dwayne Richard made a promise that if he could ever get out of his wheelchair, he would "repay his gratitude with acts of kindness to the world."
According to the Detroit Free Press, Richard is a handyman who landed in a wheelchair after a "bone-crushing fall" that would require 17 surgeries. After surviving all of that, Dwayne got out of that wheelchair and ended up in Sanford, Michigan.
After Dwayne heard about the two dams that failed north of Midland, MI last week he and his wife Tabitha decided that their family of four would pack up and take a road trip to help out those in need. Tabitha reached out to the Michigan governor's office and the United Way of Midland County and was surprised at how quickly they responded.
Before you knew it, Dwayne and his crew were loading up a U-haul and a truck full of clothes and cleaning supplies that were leftover from a donation drive for five local families who were left homeless by a recent 150-mph tornado in his hometown of Richard, LA.
When we seen the devastation up here, we thought that would be the best place to bring it. So we packed up and headed on over
Before trekking through Mississippi, Kentucky, and Ohio, Dwayne and his family packed up "all the fixins" they would need for a homemade gumbo.
When they arrived on Monday, they cooked a "classic jambalaya" for any flood victim who was hungry outside of a local middle school. On Tuesday, Richard stirred up a gumbo from scratch outside of the Red Oak Restaurant in downtown Sandford.
Dwayne was surrounded by family members who helped him to prepare "everything fresh on-site."
We packed everything in ice chests and we'll have about 15 gallons worth of gumbo when we're done. Once we finish cooking, we'll clean up and see if they need us. Then we'll pack up and head home. We have more work to do for those families who lost their homes in the tornado. I'm not a super religious person. I have God in my heart.
Well Dwayne, you made us proud in South Louisiana and we hope you and the rest of the Richard family have safe travels home.