Rebuild a School for 120 Students in Puerto Rico

This period has been one of constant challenges but also a period full of opportunities for all our
projects. Just while we were trying to face and attend the crisis caused by a series of earthquakes on
January, the COVID-19 crisis came and changed everything. Our plans had to be adapted to a new
reality, but our spirit of service continues to move in the same direction: empowering our communities
to build together a better quality of life and a more stable future. Nuestra Escuela conceives education
as a liberating practice, so going through the COVID-19 experience has been purely a learning process.

What have we done to continue the project of rebulding the school ?

Although at this point, donations for this project were less than on prior occasions, we continue to
advance towards our goal of having a safe and comforting space, imbued with the power of the beauty
and the resilient spirit of our people. We have gathered sources of funds to advance in the necessary
structural reforms to continue with the planned phases in our 3 buildings in Caguas: Homeland, Love
and Freedom.

With GlobalGiving funds we have continued to equip our spaces, with bookshelves, desks and racks.
This has enabled us to move forward in creating welcoming learning environments that are inspiring for
our youth. This spaces also provide a collaborative work environment for our staff, where creating with
young people is part of the daily enjoyment of being part of Nuestra Escuela.

Although we have been able to continue with our projects, all our energy has been focused, as always,
on responding to the needs of our students, their families and our community in the face of the
onslaught of the aftermath of the crisis. We have worked in alliances with many third sector
organizations, and we have managed to attend to three main aspects: well-being, food insurance and
access to technology. All of this has been part of a comprehensive and overall response strategy,
designed and implemented to ensure that our services can continue despite the physical distancing
measures taken during the pandemic.

Our goal is getting closer. We are sure that as soon as we can return to our facilities, the building will be
more beautiful, safer, and ready to continue building up from a resilient spirit.

The children are our greatest treasure. 

The passing of Hurricanes Irma and Maria taught us about the importance of preparation, and that our resilient spirit must be accompanied by adequate safety and prevention plans. That is why day by day, in the process of rebuilding the school, we integrate all the necessary measures so that our children and our youth are in spaces prepared for possible atmospheric or natural events. One can never be sufficiently prepared for a disaster and its consequences, but still, safer places can be built.

As we advanced in the reconstruction of our educational center in Caguas, to have an increasingly beautiful and functional school, as well as the school that our community deserves, a series of earthquakes occurred and caused damage throughout the South region of the Island. It was then that we invested in replacing the glasses of Nuestra Escuela in Caguas, to ensure that in the event of an earthquake, no boy or girl is injured by the breaking of it. This was possible thanks to many small donations that trusted on Nuestra Escuela again. We continue to rely on our ability to undertake the day-to-day challenges to rebuilding our school, and allow ourselves to be a safe space for hundreds of lives of children and young people to rebuild themselves in a space of love, beauty and healing. .

The school continues to grow and advance in the reconstruction of the last area still without remodeling in the building. It was necessary to conduct environmental studies, to ensure that the old building was not affected by asbestos. Thanks to the support of GlobalGiving we were able to hire a specialized company to carry out this study. We now have the certification to continue advancing in the last steps of our great dream!

Nuestra Escuelita

 With our spirit full of strength, love and desire to be the Puerto Rico we dream of, we acquired materials to create an outdoor recreational space in the public square of Caguas. This outdoor space is for boys and girls to grow by educating themselves in a service model that addresses their interests and that is designed based on their needs, but above all, that respects their own rhythm. We are clear that Our Mission of Love is to continue creating spaces where joy, play and challenges are a significant part of learning in Nuestra Escuela.

• Certificacin_Negativa_asbesto.pdf (PDF)
  
• Certificacin_Negativa_plomo.pdf (PDF)