Zero Deaths... A Collective Response to COVID-19

Eight months into the pandemic, and we’ve had ZERO DEATHS in the supported communities

Our ZERO DEATHS strategy has led us to support more than 46 non-profit organizations in their quest to educate and contain the virus and; in their process of providing other essential services. Sixty-four (64), out of our 78 municipalities have been impacted with $802,966 in grants. One of those organizations is PryMed, a community health clinic in Ciales, a municipality in the central region of the island. They have been able to serve 1,000 elders, some of them with mobility problems or homebound. They focused on providing baskets with local produce and non-perishable food items to help avoid visits to the stores and minimize contagious risk. One of the participants voiced out her gratitude, when part of the staff brought groceries on a Friday afternoon, it was not until Sunday that her son had planned to visit with some groceries, as she explained to PryMed staff that she was already out of food supply.  “¡Gracias mija!”, which translates to ‘thanks my friend’. “I was waiting for my son to come over the weekend to buy some little things…”, told the old lady, according to the organization's report.

In addition to educational and preventive services, our strategy supported microbusinesses affected by the pandemic to reduce closing risks and facilitate the operation. One of the grantees was Agape Tiendita Solidaria y Café, a thrift and consignment store in Arecibo -a municipality on the northern coast of the island. “One of the biggest challenges we faced has been keeping up to date with business operational payments. The lack of income has accumulated debts”, said the business owner report to FCPR. He explained that they had to close temporarily from March 16 to July 28 to keep the employees and clients safe. “This grant served as a fund to pay off some outstanding debts and start with a new impulse”, added.  The grant was used to pay the rent, license, energy service, and payroll. Another five micro businesses received grants.

The supported organizations have reached more than 14,981 people; have provided over 10,098 grocery bags and boxes of nutritional supplements; and 3,073 Covid-19 tests have been being administered in coordination with private laboratories. Also, 31 organizations and academic institutions have become allies of the initiative expanding educative initiatives in many communities around the island.

As we hit the three-month lockdown mark, communities in Puerto Rico are coming together to support the most vulnerable. Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico,  through its NGO partners, has reached more than 11,000 individuals in 50 communities and has awarded 30 grants totaling $626,577.

Organizations from the southern part of Puerto Rico to the municipal island of Culebra, in the East Region, are organizing communities to provide food, health supplies, and administering tests and tracing contacts among many other personalized services depending on the needs of the families.

One of our grantees - VAMOS -  working with Arenas Community in the South of Puerto Rico, has shown what true resiliency is all about. When the pandemic began, they organized themselves to have a better understanding of the demographics of their community. They started surveying the families in the community, with 116 families, more than 50% of the population is over 55 years old. Almost 20% of the homes did not have a means of transportation and there were 30 people unable to take care of themselves. The community organized itself and put together an education and containment plan that included: alliance with a local laboratory to provide the community with tests, health practitioners visited families to educate and provide medical referrals, and the provision of food and health prevention equipment, such as masks.

The health pandemic became a window for economic activity for its residents. After initially buying masks and other equipment, they organized themselves to manufacture the masks. They established a group of seamstresses that elaborated over 1,000 masks. These were sold at $4 with a revenue distribution as follows: $1 to purchase material, $1 for the Arenas Community Fund, and $2 for the seamstresses. This innovative approach, allowed them to act on behalf of the well being of the community by providing access to this essential health prevention piece, but also to plan for the future of the community by establishing a community fund and stimulating job creation.

Within the communities our 30 grantees have been working on, ZERO DEATHS, have been reported.