OMAHA – The adage “it takes a village” rings true in a North Omaha neighborhood.
The goal is to clean up the homeless camp at 18th and Grant streets.
The problem for Marc Nda is that it is too big to wait.
He had some help, but he required more.
“Rondell and Lee they came back with seven other people to clean out the whole thing, so now I have my land back and I am happy,” Nda told me.
“So thank god were able to clean that, so I think my neighbor will be very happy.”
Rondell Moore grew up in the neighborhood. Helping clear this lot provided an opportunity to do something positive for the community.
“I heard that he had some trouble with his lot and the community was having some issues, and I felt it would be a perfect time for me to step in and lend a helping hand,” says Rondell.
He claimed it did not take much to persuade his 17-year-old son, Leander, to help out.
“His future is caring for the community and building a community, I had several talks with him, and I noticed it is something he is passionate about,” Rondell told me.
Leander Moore, for his part, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to contribute to the betterment of at least a portion of the local community.
“Like my dad, he gave me the opportunity to come out here, help, meet somebody like him,” Leander told me.
“He taught me a lot, his talks I really appreciated the opportunity and I am just looking forward to do better and just having a good track in life.”
Leander says he learned to see the big picture of how homeless camps affect not only the people who live there, but the entire community.
“It was trash around down here, and I wish we would take better care of our community for our people, and better living conditions for the people that live down here,” Leander told me.
The Moores intend to do more for the community in the near future, building the village one plot of land at a time.
The Omaha City Council will consider four one-year extensions in which four companies clean up homeless camps as needed.
The City would have the option of hiring cleanup companies on a year-by-year basis.