Support Hygiene Needs in Puerto Rico

‘Tis the Season for giving back, and with #GivingTuesday upon us we’d like to celebrate the ways our community of partners has supported us.

Loraine, a Puerto Rico mom of three (ages 9, 3 and 1), has been a vital piece of our support puzzle to connect with those in need in that territory since Hurricane Maria devastated the already struggling area last year.

To date, she has helped us distribute some of more than a thousand cloth diaper kits.

Her generosity is rubbing off on others there, too!

“Sometimes my 9 year old comes home and says, ‘Mom I saw a baby today - she didn’t have cloth diapers, you have to take cloth diapers to school,’” Loraine said. “He already told the principal of the school that mommy helps with the cloth diapers.”

We’re so happy to have Loraine and your support to help her and us make a difference.

Make an impact for #GivingTuesday:In 2017, the global giving movement known as #GivingTuesday raised more than $300M online. The average gift given was $120.40. That’s a lot of little steps combining efforts to making a big difference.

At Jake’s Diapers, we believe every small step makes a big difference in ending poverty. Please consider joining the 2018 #GivingTuesday movement to support Jake’s in empowering people to live clean, healthy and prosperous lives. GlobalGiving is matching donations supporting relief work in Puerto Rico at 100%. This is a tremendous opportunity to amplify your impact.

Thanks for helping babies!

~ Stephanie

More than a year after Hurricane Maria devastated residents of Puerto Rico, the official death toll as a result of the storm continues to rise.

Why? Because destruction from the storm brought additional challenges to already poverty- stricken areas, where access to basic and hygiene necessities remains restricted.

“We still have a lot of communities without power and electricity here - so it’s difficult,” said Iveliz Feuntes, a resident who does charitable work in Puerto Rico through two organizations (A.M.A.R. and G.O.D).  “Also running water and clean water. They usually limit everything.”

The initial death toll reported totaled 64 lives lost. When we now include what is labeled as “excess death,” we shouldn’t be surprised to see that number go beyond 4,000 by the end of 2018, according to  a Washington Post article. The article explains excess death like this:

“In the second phase, people die because electrical outages shut down home-based respirators and kidney dialysis centers. Access to vital prescription drugs may be severely limited as supply chains grind to a halt, putting people with conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and asthma at serious risk.

“In phase three, profound population vulnerabilities become increasingly apparent and deadly. The ferocity of Hurricane Maria and the lack of resources to rapidly recover exacerbated long-standing physician shortages, poor transportation systems and enduring inadequacies in the power grid.”

Access to medical intervention has always been a challenge, the article says, with difficulties in finding or affording transportation, as well as finding an available physician: the number of physicians in Puerto Rico dropped by 5,000 between 2006 and 2016. Plus, mental health and suicide hotlines are seeing an astounding 500 calls per day since the storm last year - up from an average of 150 to 200 prior.

At Jake’s Diapers, we know the power a single donation of hygiene necessities holds: our families feel instant relief when we remove the financial burden of affording diapers by gifting cloth diapers that will suit the child from birth to potty training. As an added bonus, our people feel additionally supported in their otherwise often isolated struggle to survive.

Thank you for providing the foundation we need to help these people rise out of poverty to live clean, healthy and active lives.

I encourage you to reach me at stephanie@jakesdiapers.org with any questions you may have. I'd love to hear from you. 

~ Stephanie