Disaster Recovery- Elders, San Antonio Puerto Rico

During this quarter the emphasis of Proyecto La Nueva Esperanza was the elderly health. A new nurse went to the eldery homes to get related with their health conditions and to verify if they were following the doctor instructions. She verified their blood pressure and glucose levels. Medical appointments for special health conditions were made for: urology, hearing and cardiology. Another two appointments were made for participants regular follow up.

The northwest area is having a running water problem because of a long dry period and the lake that supplies the water to our area (Guajataca Lake) level is getting lower constantly. Since February 22, 2019 our area has running water every other day: 24 hours of water and 24 without it. This will continue until the lake level increases. An oasis (truck with potable water) was located in our community but it's difficult for the elderly to go where it is, and imposible for the ones with physical limitations. For this reason, Proyecto La Nueva Esperanza distributed bottled water to the participants, nutritional drinks and disposable plates, forks and spoons.  Groceries and clothing were delivered to those with most need. 

Since November 2018, we are delivering meals on Friday, Saturday and Sundays. A cook prepares the food in our kitchen and the driver with the help of volunteers distributes them among our participants. We recruited ten (10) new volunteers. One of them told us:  "I'm pleased to be part of a helping hand to the elderly, they look so happy when we arrived." In this quarter our organization delivered 1,723 meals to our participants.

Some elderly had lost their documents: birth certification, electoral card, PAN and TANF and our organization helped them to get a replacement at the corresponding offices.

Thanks to our GlobalGiving donors we can provide the elderly with their basic needs, specially during this difficult time.

The last 2018 quarter Proyecto La Nueva Esperanza was able to continue with activities for the benefit of 50 elderly participants from the Disaster Recovery Program.  During this period we delivered 2,165 meals, distributed nutritional drinks twice, water bottles once and water filters.  Christmas presents and special meal was prepared to share the joy of this season.

We bought products so the cook could prepare the meals and the driver distributed them.   The donations help us to cover the payroll for them.  Our old Ford vehicle who is the one used to deliver the meals had problems with the front bulbs.  New bulbs were purchased and other minor repairs had to be made.  The kitchen was fumigate to keep it vermin free.

These were the accomplishments during the quarter:

1. Recruitd three (3) new elderly participants.

2.  Nurse reports showed that the elderly participants health has been improving after the traumatic hurricane experience. 

3.  Water bottles and water filters were distributed to the elderly to prevent epidemic diseases.

4.  Follow up showed that the elderly their nutritional needs were covered. 

5.   During this period we reached our goal to improve the living conditions of the elderly.

Year 2018 was a difficult one but thanks to all our donors we were able to continue providing services to the elderly.  Our personnel and the elderly appreciate that even with different problems after the hurricane, Proyecto La Nueva Esperanza was able to provide to their needs.