PRevent

Hurricane Maria’s landfall on Puerto Rico on September 20th has resulted in a humanitarian crisis. A cornerstone of this crisis is lack of access to drinking water. About 50% of victims have running water that is not drinkable. The rest have no running water at all. Since bottled water is scarce, some are getting their water supplies from rivers and lakes. Thus, victims are getting exposed to contaminated water. Already, the number of leptospirosis cases is increasing, and deaths have been reported. A way to prevent illness is to use water filtration and purification. The funds collected through this account will be used to purchase and ship Sawyer water filters and Potable Aqua water treatment tablets.

Additionally, given soil saturation, rainwater is accumulating everywhere. This provides a breeding ground for mosquitoes, which are carriers for viruses such as zika, chikungunya, and dengue hemorrhagic fever. Preventing mosquito bites is key to preventing these epidemics, so funds collected through this account will also be used to purchase and ship Off Deep Woods spray and Off Deep Woods wipes.

Items will be shipped to people from my western hometown of Añasco, who will directly distribute them locally.