Recent Activity
Saturday, November 25
Successfully executing a trip to deliver goods to needy communities, especially those in more remote locations, requires the confluence of several variable factors and perhaps none more important than those that come on the day of trip departure. To the dismay of ourselves and other team members, both of our trips planned for the last two weeks were examples of how we can work around some factors, while others we cannot.
For the weekend of November 18 we were at the mercy of Mother Nature. After several days of wonderful sunny weather, the island was hit with a double wave of heavy rains that left not just the mountainous areas flooded again, but those of us here in the metropolitan San Juan area received multiple flash flood warnings. Neither Saturday nor Sunday presented weather conditions fit for travel, so we reluctantly postponed that outing.
During the following week, we regrouped and on Saturday November 25, we set off full steam ahead with clear skies and a caravan of four cars full of supplies. We were especially grateful to be adding a mountain of clothes from a donation that a new volunteer had acquired through the Salvation Army. As quickly as we departed, we were forced to halt the caravan after that volunteer’s car presented some engine problems. Disappointing as it was, it was clear that we would have to make the trip without her, and that meant we would have to transfer as much as possible into the three other cars and go without a lot of the clothing that filled her car. And so we made the transfer and headed off to our destination – a return trip to the municipality of Comerío to visit homes we had been unable to visit on our previous trip. Thus, the trip was interrupted, but ultimately successful.
On today’s trip we:
- Directly delivered bottled water and gift bags robustly filled with food, over-the-counter medications and personal care items to 30 households in the Comerío barrio of Palomas.
- Provided adult diapers and other hygiene goods to elderly and bedridden community members.
- Outfitted community members with nearly 600 gently used clothing items, including shirts, pants, dresses, jackets, hats, shoes, purses and backpacks.
- Offered approximately 50 bedding items, including bed covers, blankets, sheets, pillowcases and towels.
- Gifted small bags of treats to all the children in the households, thanks to the generosity and preparation of friends and their granddaughter who joined us on this trip.
- Left a supply of diapers, wipes, baby and toddler food, infant formula and Pedialyte for the residential center we visited on our last trip that serves children with special needs.
Just like on our previous trips, today we learned so many meaningful lessons from the people we met. On one especially moving encounter we met a woman who is caring for her mother who has been bedridden for nine years, her 61-year-old sister who has been bedridden all her life, and her three young grandchildren. She welcomed us warmly into their home and introduced us to each member of the family.
Nine years bedridden, no water or electricity since the hurricane, yet hopeful and smiling...no surrender in this woman
This woman lost her kitchen which provided her livelihood, and most of the rest of her house, but she has moved back in and intends to get back in business
Another woman we met lives alone and lost nearly her entire house, including her kitchen where she made her livelihood through homemade ice cream and simple local foods. She came home one day to find men she didn’t know re-roofing what was left of her home. The men asked for no compensation. That act has allowed this woman to revive her energy and aspiration to start her home business again.
One farmer who has worked in this area for nearly six decades said he is grateful that we are sharing the items we bring, but he wanted us to know that his father and grandfather stressed to not only be grateful for what you receive, but to use that which you receive to strengthen your resolve not to depend on others.
At every stop we made, the people were definitely most grateful for our delivery, but they were also quick to identify another household or individual in need and they were willing to give up the delivery to be sure that other person was taken care of. We have been honored to meet all of these individuals and continue to be grateful for your contributions that allow us to help strengthen their resolve.
The smile of gratitude from this woman was priceless as she received the bag of goods from our young team members
A farmer tells José how he hopes the people will see our gifts as inspiration to develop their resolve to carry on, not to develop a dependence on others
Sunday, November 12, 2017
As Puerto Rico approaches two months post-hurricane María, sporadic gains are seen in some parts of the island, predominantly in the metropolitan area of San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital city, and its neighboring municipalities. The more rural areas of the island, particularly the mountainous and coastal areas, continue to experience deficient availability of basic goods.
On our most recent trip we returned to the mountainous region, visiting the municipality of Comerío. This is a community that is so lovely with its colorfully painted houses backdropped against the green mountainside and its town center bisected by the Río Plata, one of Puerto Rico's major rivers. Unfortunately, with the arrival of Hurricane María, this typically tranquil scene was transformed into a disaster zone where nearly all structures along the river were severely flooded and damaged, and those in the outer-lying areas were left isolated.
Upon our arrival today, Nov 12, color is returning to the town!
Water remains a most basic need
We were fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day for our visit, but with the noticeably cooler temperature that is characteristic in the mountain regions at this time of year. Night temperatures can begin to drop into the lower fifties (Fahrenheit), which, combined with high humidity, makes for chilly nights. In anticipation of this temperature change we collected cool weather items to include in our offerings on this trip.
Cool weather donations
Our first stop was a small residential school for eight children with special needs, from age two to eighteen. Though the teachers do not usually live onsite, we learned that this team has done so since the first hurricane (Irma) hit on September 6 due to the unreliability of telecommunications, thus, the uncertainty of being able to get services in the event of an emergency. We were happy to share basic supplies and attention with these young adults and we saw a very touching gratitude in their shy smiles when we extended food and personal care items not just for the students but specifically for them.
On today's trip we:
- Directly delivered bottled water and bags of mixed food supplies, over-the-counter medications and personal care items to 50 households in the Comerío barrios of El Verde, Cejas and Vía Brava.
- Provided a supply of diapers, along with a bag of articles for mom and infants, to families with babies. Today we delivered to the youngest community member of all our trips - a one month old.
- Provided adult diapers and other hygiene goods to elderly and bedridden community members living alone.
- Offered gently worn sweaters, jackets and blankets to over 40 community members.
- Provided 200 ham and cheeses sandwiches along with fresh apples, thanks to World Central Kitchen.
Today we were guided through the barrios of the Comerío municipality by three local public school teachers whose students had personally surveyed the needs of families in the most affected areas. Each week we have been fortunate to get connected to active local community members who share their insights about where our support is most needed. We are so grateful to all of these individuals who are helping us to directly reach our target population and to you for your contributions that make the outreach possible.
Many homes are not accessible by car
Sunday, November 5, 2017
As word is spreading that different disaster relief agencies are preparing to retreat from Puerto Rico, we made our most recent delivery to the municipalities of Manatí and Barceloneta. Both municipalities are characterized by mountainous and coastal barrios, so in these cases the hurricane devastation included the impact of storm surge and massive flooding on top of damages from sustained winds that exceeded 150 MPH and torrential rains that impacted the rest of the island. Creeks became roaring rivers, and rivers became ominous lakes.
Just a section of the once-flooded area of Manatí
Our first delivery was to a family whose home is just barely a couple of minutes off a main highway; in fact, the house could be seen from the highway. But the flooding of such a vast area left this family and many others of this barrio inaccessible for weeks. We experienced this level of need throughout the day in the homes of so many others.
On today's trip we:
- Directly delivered bottled water and bags of mixed food supplies, over-the-counter medications and personal hygiene supplies, to about 40 families in the Manatí barrios of Cortés, Boquillas and Los Rábanos, and the Barceloneta barrios of Punta Palmas and Palmas Altas.
- Provided a supply of diapers, along with a bag of articles for mom and infants, to families with babies.
- Provided adult diapers and other hygiene goods to families with elderly or bedridden members.
- Provided 200 ham and cheeses sandwiches along with fresh apples, donated again by World Central Kitchen.
First delivery of the day
A man who was grateful for our surprise visit
Like each of our other trips, today's underscored the nature of our purpose. On the one hand, the delivery of sorely needed goods meets an understandable objective. On the other hand, each delivery lets the people know that all of us - you through your contributions, and us through our visits - care about their well being and the resolve of their spirit to carry on to reconstruct Puerto Rico.
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Six weeks after Hurricane María's devastation of Puerto Rico, most of the island remains in need of fresh water, food and other basic goods. The conflictive nature of bureaucratic red tape continues to profoundly hinder the timely allocation and delivery of basic goods to the people. Your contributions continue to inspire us and feed some of the most isolated communities on the big island.
We are so grateful that once again we were able to make a trip deep into the mountainous highlands of Puerto Rico. And like the previous trip we were joined by family and friends who helped collect, transport and personally deliver these goods with us.
We want to extend our deepest gratitude to the many families of HULARI Residents Association and to the Pediatric Hospital Foundation at the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico who so generously donated additional food items and medical and personal hygiene provisions.
On this occasion we targeted the municipality of Jayuya and, like on our other trips, we were deeply moved by the resolve of the people. Their words and warm hugs expressed sincere appreciation. The people's resolve is uncanny.
Delivery team at work
Jayuya Strong!
An interesting moment had to do with a family's pet German Shepard. We saw him holed up in his doghouse and were told that their once very lively family pet no longer ventures out of his dog house after having been traumatized by the hurricane.
We were told stories of chickens that had left their original farms for others.
The farmers believe this behavior demonstrates that the chickens associate their home farm with the terror of the hurricane.
At another home, an elderly woman gave us a couple of oranges from the few she was able to rescue off of a fallen orange tree. We were touched by this expression of gratitude for our visit and delivery of goods.
On today's trip we:
- Directly delivered bottled water, sugar, rice and bags of mixed food supplies to over 50 families in the barrios of Jauca, Pica, Canaliza, Zumas, and Collores.
- Provided a supply of diapers, wipes and a bag with baby food, Pedialyte and other infant goods to families with babies.
- Provided adult diapers and other hygiene goods to families with elderly or bedridden members.
- Offered over-the-counter medications, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and first aid articles, as well as items for dental and personal hygiene.
- Provided 250 turkey and cheeses sandwiches along with fresh mandarin oranges, donated again by World Central Kitchen.
- Delivered one community water filter.
As with our other trips, this one saw its share of rain. As such, road conditions continue to be a challenge. With your help we will continue to make our trips and deliveries to the communities in some of the most remote areas of the island.
Landslide conditions, a common feature on the trips
Family supply bags (and our chainsaw for possible blocked roads)
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Thanks to your contributions over the past week, on Saturday Oct. 21 we were able to make a return trip to the mountainous municipality of Adjuntas. We were extremely fortunate to be joined by family and friends who filled an additional five cars with essential goods which they had donated themselves or received from local merchants.
Getting ready at Casa Pueblo for our next series of deliveries
Community members selecting items from current inventory
As a team of sixteen people, we expanded our efforts and offered multiple services:
- Directly delivered bottled water, sugar, rice, care packages of mixed food supplies and warm hugs of solidarity to dozens of families living in destroyed or badly damaged homes in the more remote barrios of Vegas Arriba, Garzas and Altos de Cuba.
- Served a scrumptious hot paella meal to approximately 250 people, thanks to the generous donation of time and talent by renowned Puerto Rican chef Efraín Cruz.
- Provided 400 ham and cheese sandwiches freshly made and donated by the World Central Kitchen project that has been set up here in San Juan.
- Added a large supply of items such as bottled water, nonperishable food and diapers to the inventory that is available to the families who are able to come to Casa Pueblo for these essential goods.
- Provided over-the-counter medical supplies for use by physicians in the community who provide services to the remote areas.
- Distributed water filters to be shared by a large segment of the community.
- Gave solar bulbs donated by Casa Pueblo to several homes.
- Transported a car full of donated clothes items from Casa Pueblo to the Baptist Church in Adjuntas so those items could be included in their Saturday free market open to all community members.
Delivery of fresh sandwiches in small town of Adjuntas
With this weekend's experience we can affirm that post-María the island remains in a state of emergency with many of the mountainous areas still looking for ways to obtain essential goods. Large supply trucks cannot travel the narrow roads so many people have not received any assistance from government entities. This makes the work by local initiatives such as My Part for Puerto Rico all the more urgent. Thank you for making this effort possible!! Please share our continued need with your friends and family.
Monday, October 16, 2017
We would like to report that today, Monday October 16, we made a delivery to the people of the mountain municipality of Adjuntas. We want to thank all of you that through your contributions made this possible. After just a couple days of being online we received enough contributions for a robust delivery of much needed goods to Casa Pueblo, a community-based initiative under the founding and direction of Alexis Massol, recipient of the internationally recognized Goldman Award for his decades of extraordinary service toward human rights and environmental concerns.
Families in the community can receive provisions from Casa Pueblo in two ways: those who have the means to get to the center of town - some are still going by horse - receive packages there; otherwise, the team at Casa Pueblo has vehicles that can make the delivery direct to homes that are inaccessible by roads.
We'd like to highlight that the center is a model of community outreach. It is completely solar energized so we were witness to its offering of a reliable space to community members who need power to operate medical therapeutic devices.
It's been nearly a month since Hurricane Maria, and flash floods continue to cause landslides, bridge failures and home damage. Today was one of those days. With your help we look forward to making our next trip later this week.
Car full of supplies for Casa Pueblo
Casa Pueblo
October 4, 2017
Our most recent delivery was to Félix Seijó School, a refuge site for families in the municipality of Utuado in the central mountain range of the island. We took a carload of clothing items along with provisions we were able to purchase in San Juan, including gallon jugs of drinking water, Pediasure, Ensure, nuts, raisins, dry cereal, fruit punch, canned meats, and diapers.
Future targeted communities include: Adjuntas, Barranquitas, Comerío, Guayama, Jayuya and Las Marías. Every day on the radio we continue to hear pleas for essential goods from these communities along with reports about goods sitting at the docks awaiting paperwork to release and deliver them. Current weather conditions are bringing more floods and the urgency for delivery does not stop. We welcome your donation and will quickly put it to use directly helping families in need.
September 27, 2017
We started small. Our first delivery was six packages of new underwear to a family in San Sebastián that lost their home and all its contents.