Hurricane Relief in Puerto Rico

Raj and I were heartbroken at the destruction in Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria, and though the hurricane hit over 2 months ago, there is still a lot of work to be done and people to help. We, along with our dear friend, Kat, have been inspired by other friends who had gone ahead of us to help with the first phase of recovery (distributing basic supplies and necessities). After talking to our contacts still on the ground, we’ve learned that most of the island has moved on to the second phase of recovery, which is rebuilding. Our desire is to not only raise money to help the hurricane relief, but to go in person and see the funds be put to good use and help with our own hands. 

We have been in contact with Roxana, the President and Founder of Voces, Fundación Topy Mamery. She started this foundation over a year ago in memory of her dad Topy Mamery, to keep his name alive and to give back the island he cared so much about. They are a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and empowering youth victims of neglect and/or domestic violence. These children have been removed from their homes and placed in different "albergues" (foster system) around the island. Voces provides clinics, workshops and recreational activities for these kids to encourage, empower and get them to smile.

After Maria, Voces has extended the help not only to orphanages, but also to nursing homes and residential homes. They have been all over the island and have seen firsthand how thousands of families have lost their homes and, to make it worse, their jobs also, making it very difficult to rebuild their lives. They have identified 3 families with structural damages to their homes that, with your help, we could go in person to help. They have partnered with a local hardware company, called National Lumber, to help us rebuild. National Lumber is offering us special rates and discounts on some materials for the rebuilding process since they know Roxana.

#1 Canales Family (5 family members): used to live in this house; parents and Cynthia (32), Luis (22) and Cristtian (13). Both parents suffer from medical conditions and they are now both unemployed post Maria. (Estimated cost: $8K)

#2 Isabela Family (4 family members): parents of a 2- and 8-years old. Dad is currently unemployed post Maria. They, fortunately, didn't lose their whole roof but a part of the roof and some walls were affected. FEMA currently put a tent over the roof because water was coming in.  (Estimated cost: $5K)

#3 Luz Family (4 family members): parents and a 2- and 7-year old boy (the youngest boy wants to be a scientist!). This family lost half of their roof with hurricane Irma and the rest of the roof with Maria. They currently have a tent.  (Estimated cost: $6K)

Voces is also helping to rebuild orphanages and nursing homes that were affected by the hurricane. Each recovery project costs about $90K per building.

We are so grateful for any monetary support, prayers, and good wishes. We are excited to go and help rebuild the lives of these 3 families, or the orphanages and nursing homes, depending on how much funds we can raise. Every little bit counts! Our goal is to raise $20K to cover the supplies and reconstruction of those houses. Any dollars we don’t use for these 3 families will go directly to Voces to use towards the rebuilding of other homes, orphanages, and nursing homes.

For more information about Voces, Fundación Topy Mamery:

Website: www.vocesfundacion.org (although it hasn’t been updated recently)

Instagram: @Vocesfundacion 

Facebook: Vocesfundaciontopymamery 

Thanks for the support and for stopping by!

 Jess, Kat, and Raj