Hurricane Relief 4 Family & Friends
Donation protected
As you may know, I am from Puerto Rico and my immediate family still resides there. I am writing to request any assistance you may have available. I recognize that others may have family/friends in similar difficult situations at this time, and I also respect and honor that reality. In my feelings of helplessness for my family, I figured I should use the skills and resources available to me, in order to help my family as best I can. I hope you understand and do not take my request for help in a negative/stressful way.
After not being able to communicate with my family for days after hurricane Maria, friends in urban PR were kind enough to travel into rural PR where my family lives to take photos and videos to share via Facebook, using most of their available gas to make these connections for me and many others. Some of you may have seen this on CNN a couple of weeks ago (http://snappytv.com/tc/5901284).
Weeks after the hurricane, I have finally been in touch with family via telephone, and the calls were devastating. Though we are very fortunate that my family is alive, they are truly just barely surviving.
Similar to other oppressed populations throughout the country/world, though the circumstances are not favorable, my family is choosing to stay in PR to rebuild their lives. Additionally, the limited resources available to them at this time creates an unsafe living situation that is inescapable. My family lives in a very rural area of PR (Naguabo) and has had even less access to resources than most other parts of the island.
It is of course a very complicated situation, I will try to keep this as brief as possible, I just wanted everyone to have a basic understanding of why I am reaching out.
Thankfully the mail system is back up and running in PR, so we can finally send them some assistance. We also have friends in urban areas of the island that are able to receive electronic funds which could then be used for my family to power generators and assist with rehabilitation efforts, but also travel around the island to access resources and mail. My family here in New England is currently gathering some donations to send over to my family members, including monetary donations. Again, I understand that many of us cannot offer much assistance at this time due to our own limitations, but if you are able to help in any way, it would be much appreciated. Any donations received through this effort will go towards the necessities (food, water, gas).
Thank you for your time and consideration.
After not being able to communicate with my family for days after hurricane Maria, friends in urban PR were kind enough to travel into rural PR where my family lives to take photos and videos to share via Facebook, using most of their available gas to make these connections for me and many others. Some of you may have seen this on CNN a couple of weeks ago (http://snappytv.com/tc/5901284).
Weeks after the hurricane, I have finally been in touch with family via telephone, and the calls were devastating. Though we are very fortunate that my family is alive, they are truly just barely surviving.
Similar to other oppressed populations throughout the country/world, though the circumstances are not favorable, my family is choosing to stay in PR to rebuild their lives. Additionally, the limited resources available to them at this time creates an unsafe living situation that is inescapable. My family lives in a very rural area of PR (Naguabo) and has had even less access to resources than most other parts of the island.
It is of course a very complicated situation, I will try to keep this as brief as possible, I just wanted everyone to have a basic understanding of why I am reaching out.
Thankfully the mail system is back up and running in PR, so we can finally send them some assistance. We also have friends in urban areas of the island that are able to receive electronic funds which could then be used for my family to power generators and assist with rehabilitation efforts, but also travel around the island to access resources and mail. My family here in New England is currently gathering some donations to send over to my family members, including monetary donations. Again, I understand that many of us cannot offer much assistance at this time due to our own limitations, but if you are able to help in any way, it would be much appreciated. Any donations received through this effort will go towards the necessities (food, water, gas).
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Organizer
Lourdes Molina
Organizer
Manchester, NH
