Disaster Recovery- Elders, San Antonio Puerto Rico

There have been much uncertainty in Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria hit the island.  The elderly were not ready for the magnitude of the hurricane and needed special attention during the recovery.  During the months of November,  December 2017 and January 2018 we continued with the meal distribution at the elderly homes during the weekends.   Sandwishes and bottle water were distributed to our participants and the community.  Bottled water distribution was very important because our community was left without running water and electricity for at least two months, some areas for three months.  During November we delivered hygiene items and a bag of groceries on a weekly basis to our participants.  They also got a Christmas Eve present:  a bag with a towel, some hygiene items and a blanket.  Up to this date, participants and some people from the community came to our office asking for groceries and we are able to provide them nonperishable food. 

One of our vehicles (year 2007)  had to be repaired because of the continuous usage to deliver meals.   Gasoline expenses for the vehicle increased and the office must use a generator to be able to continue providing our services.  Going back to normal have been very difficult because the lack of communication.  Up to this date (end of January 2018),  the office is still without the telephone and internet services.  We are using our personal cell phones and for the internet we ask any friend out of our community if they have this service and if we can use it for a while.   

Contributions also helped us with the kitchen expenses, cook and driver which are related to our nutritional service.  We are very commited to continue providing the elderly services during the crisis period.  We are very thankful to the Global Giving donors for their support during this hard time.

During the last three months Proyecto La Nueva Esperanza continue providing for the elderly needs.  Our main one:  meals which are distributed by volunteers to our participants during weekends.

September has been a hard month for us because of hurricanes:  Irma which hit the east side of the island and two weeks later hurricane Maria hit the whole island.  Prior to the impacts, the Case Manager visited all our participants.  Orientation on how to prepare for the hurricanes and what to do after it was given.  She also verified their needs and provided them with canned food, bottled water, and hygiene articles.  The Case Manager also verified the elderly needs after the hurricane and distributed some clothing.

Hurricane Maria impacted everyone, especially the elderly.  The main issues in the community has been the lack of electricity, running water, food and communications.  The elderly have a low income, especially from government aids and Social Security. Many do not have transportation to go to a supermarket, and most stores required to pay in cash because their systems were out of service.  Some of our participant houses lost the roof and everything inside was damaged because of the wind and rain.  Since the hurricane our community do not have running water and people must buy bottled water or go to an oasis for it.

Proyecto La Nueva Esperanza received some goods from the Red Cross, meals were prepared in our kitchen and took it to our participant homes.  Also for several days a local fast food donated sandwishes  for the participants and the community which were distributed by our personnel and volunteers.

Thanks to GlobalGiving donors, our organization has been able to continue providing meals, bottled water and articles such as briefs, under pads and wet towels to our participants.  As water is vital for everyone, we are going in our official vehicle to an oasis about 26 miles away to fill a water tank and be able to distribute water to people in our community, especially the elderly.

We are very grateful for the donations received during this difficult period.  Thanks to the donors we have been able to continue taking care of our participants and help our community.