Disaster Recovery- Elders, San Antonio Puerto Rico

During the last three months Proyecto La Nueva Esperanza continue providing for the elderly needs.  Our main one:  meals which are distributed by volunteers to our participants during weekends.

September has been a hard month for us because of hurricanes:  Irma which hit the east side of the island and two weeks later hurricane Maria hit the whole island.  Prior to the impacts, the Case Manager visited all our participants.  Orientation on how to prepare for the hurricanes and what to do after it was given.  She also verified their needs and provided them with canned food, bottled water, and hygiene articles.  The Case Manager also verified the elderly needs after the hurricane and distributed some clothing.

Hurricane Maria impacted everyone, especially the elderly.  The main issues in the community has been the lack of electricity, running water, food and communications.  The elderly have a low income, especially from government aids and Social Security. Many do not have transportation to go to a supermarket, and most stores required to pay in cash because their systems were out of service.  Some of our participant houses lost the roof and everything inside was damaged because of the wind and rain.  Since the hurricane our community do not have running water and people must buy bottled water or go to an oasis for it.

Proyecto La Nueva Esperanza received some goods from the Red Cross, meals were prepared in our kitchen and took it to our participant homes.  Also for several days a local fast food donated sandwishes  for the participants and the community which were distributed by our personnel and volunteers.

Thanks to GlobalGiving donors, our organization has been able to continue providing meals, bottled water and articles such as briefs, under pads and wet towels to our participants.  As water is vital for everyone, we are going in our official vehicle to an oasis about 26 miles away to fill a water tank and be able to distribute water to people in our community, especially the elderly.

We are very grateful for the donations received during this difficult period.  Thanks to the donors we have been able to continue taking care of our participants and help our community. 

During the past months many activities were held.  We continue with our nutrition program providing the elderly with a healthy meal during the weekends.  Volunteers, youth and adults, distributed the meals to the elderly homes.  The participants buy  what they can get with their low income but not the healthy food they need.  The menu they receive from Proyecto La Nueva Esperanza is different every week and in some cases the only meal they receive that day.

Father's Day was special for our participants.  They receive a bag with some basic need articles such as: disposable razors, soap, tooth paste and brush. They expressed their gratitude and for many it was the only present they got that day. 

Health is very important because the person can be more relax not thinking that are vulnerable to get an illness, chronic pain or disease, it can save time, money and hospital visits.   The elderly will not have to be a burden to their loved ones and he/she can enjoy a better emotional wellbeing. Energy and vitality increases with a good health and for these reasons we provide follow-up to their conditions.  A nurse visits the participants to verify if they are taking their medicines and to indicate the importance of follow the instructions, monitor their glucose or blood pressure, and to provide orientation about the correct use of their medical equipment.  During the past months were were able to distribute Ensure and Glucerna shakes to provide nutrition for specific conditions.   

Proyecto La Nueva Esperanza appreciate the support we receive from the donors because it makes a positive impact to the participants.  Each donation help us to improve and/or continue providing our services.