Puerto Rico & Caribbean Hurricane Relief Fund

More than three months after Hurricane Maria made landfall, life has not returned to normal for millions of people in the Caribbean, especially in Puerto Rico. Some parts of the island are predicted to be without power until May, and the lack of reliable access to electricity has hampered recovery and rebuilding efforts and severely impacted public health and education.

Given the ongoing challenges facing Puerto Ricans, I’m especially grateful that nearly 50,000 donors like you have decided to support locally driven organizations who are committed to following through on what is sure to be a long recovery—and have raised more than $10.6 million so far to fund their work.

Today, I’d like to share the progress being made by six GlobalGiving partners who’ve been assisting survivors in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria devastated the island, with the backing of your generous donation.

• Red de Fundaciones de Puerto Rico’s island-spanning network of grassroots organizations have been tackling the myriad problems residents are facing on the road to recovery, including preventing disease outbreaks by controlling burgeoning rat and mosquito populations, clearing debris from roadways, helping farmers restore their storm-damaged fields, delivering psychosocial services for families dealing with the hurricane’s emotional toll, and providing educational opportunities for students while many public schools remained closed.
• After being hit by Irma and Maria, 1,000 families living in eight communities along the Caño Martín Peña, a 3.75-mile-long tidal channel running through the heart of San Juan, lost the roofs to their homes. In response, a local NGO called Grupo De Las Ocho Comunidades Aledañas Al Caño Martín Peña (G-8) launched the Roofs for the Caño campaign to replace roofs the hurricanes destroyed with more storm-resistant solutions. Their determination to tackle problems government agencies have been unable to address has been profiled in Rolling Stone and Mother Jones.
• The city of Humacao and its neighboring towns, located on the island’s eastern coast, were among the worst-hit by Maria, and are still lacking consistent electrical power and access to basic services.  Programa De Educacion Comunal De Entrega Y Servicio (PECES), which provides tutoring and after-school programs to thousands of students in the Humacao area, has seen the deep impact the storm’s aftermath has had on the children they serve. To address their needs, PECES is leveraging the access they already have in elementary schools to offer programs aimed at healing the emotional trauma children have experienced through arts and recreation.
• IsraAID’s Emergency Response Team has been on the island since September 27th, and the team continues to provide emergency relief, and is now planning and implementing longer-term and sustainable solutions. Their team’s current focus is on ensuring communities have access to safe sources of water and providing post-trauma mental health support to survivors.
• With the storm badly damaging Puerto Rico’s electrical grid and disrupting deliveries of gas and propane to the island, fuel has been in high demand. Fuel Relief Fund has helped 40,000 residents across 15 cities get the fuel they need, whether it’s for transportation or electric generators.
• Since 2000, Nuestra Escuela has helped more than 1,500 Puerto Rican youth graduate from high school after having previously dropped out for various reasons. Their school buildings in Caguas suffered extensive damage in the storm, and they’ve now begun the process of rebuilding, ensuring that their more than 120 students continue on their path to graduation.

While we’re likely to read more stories in the coming months about the continued impact of power outages and logistical challenges facing government relief efforts, seeing the difference that community-led GlobalGiving partners on the ground are making for the people of Puerto Rico gives me hope that we’ll see a full recovery on the island—and I hope their stories do the same for you.

I’ll be back in your inbox in the coming weeks to share more stories of progress from our partners in Puerto Rico, as well as reports on recovery work underway in Antigua, Barbados, Cuba, Haiti, and all across the Caribbean. Until then, thank you again for your generous support.

Warmly,
Britt Lake + the GlobalGiving Team