Techos para Puerto Rico

As I am about to land on the island of Puerto Rico, I naturally look out the window, and see the marks Hurricane Maria had left behind. I saw a sea of blue and by that I don’t mean the ocean, but the hundreds of blue tarps that covered people’s homes. Talking to the locals opened my eyes to a reality that had been forgotten. People are STILL living without power, some have access to water, some don’t. People have lost it all. But their essence and strength to continue fighting is what remains them strong. It was a Sunday Morning when my sister and I met with Linda who’s part of Toldos Pa’ Mi Gente in Puerto Rico. It was there where I met Brenda Alvarez and Rafael Gonzalez. We helped clean and empty out their home, which had be completely been damaged by the hurricane. They had lost almost all of their belongings. The rooms were empty, no beds, no clothes nothing left behind but the damage the hurricane had caused. The living room was empty and when you looked up you saw nothing but a white moldy ceiling, that had holes thru out the house. Once we were done cleaning I approached the owners and asked their story. The day the hurricane came in, they left their home and found shelter at her parents house, up the hill. They saw thru this tiny whole in the window how the hurricane was destroying everything. Palm Trees where falling, power lines were down, not a single leave was left on the tree after the high winds came in. Once the hurricane had passed they returned home, to find it completely destroyed, art pieces their daughter had worked on, destroyed. Nothing was left. Their house was completely flooded. They reached out to FEMA to seek for help to build their house back up only to be rejected 20 mins after entering the home and making an “assessment”. They have not been able to return to their home in 5 months and they’ve been living without power for that same length of time. Now thanks to Toldos Pa’ Mi Gente they have a steady but temporary tarp “roof”. With hurricane season quickly approaching they want to make sure, they are able to have a steady roof. This family wants to return to their home. They want to work hard to build back up what Hurricane Maria took down. Which is why I am telling you this story today and reaching out in hopes we can raise the funds to gives this family a chance to return to their home. Please share this story, like them there are many people in Puerto Rico living this reality. Lets not forget about them. If organizations like FEMA can’t provide them the help and support they need then who else can do it, but us, as a community. I appreciate your time, any donations will be going to Toldos Pa’ Mi Gente who will be in charge of the materials and installation of the roof. Thank you.