CONCORD, NH – Yari Rodriguez was thrilled to hear that Gov. Chris Sununu was officially launching the items she helped collect with an assist from the community to Puerto Rico, after the island was devastated in September due to back-to-back hurricanes.
Sununu called a news conference on Oct. 24 to officially send-off the generous donations given during New Hampshire’s October 3-4 Puerto Rico Aid Drive. Working together with state and local partners, New Hampshire donated 282,000 bottles of water, 350,000 pounds of food, and 68 pallets of hygienic products for those in need in Puerto Rico. Seventeen tractor-trailers were to be filled with New Hampshire’s collected goods, and will make their way down south to help meet the need of those impacted by the hurricanes in Puerto Rico. During the drive, 198 state employees and 109 AmeriCorps members provided 1,566 hours of service.
Since the conclusion of the two-day drive during which residents were encouraged to drop off items to the State House lawn, New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management staff, along with state partners have provided more than 700 hours of service sorting, repackaging, and preparing donations for FEMA. The donations will be trucked to New Jersey, where they will then be loaded onto a barge and shipped down to Puerto Rico, for arrival on November 2, 2017.
“This tremendous effort was made possible through the efforts of state employees and with generous assistance provided by AmeriCorps, the New Hampshire Food Bank, Volunteer NH, Granite United Way, and the New Hampshire National Guard,” Sununu said Tuesday during his remarks.
“More than 600 vehicles were unloaded during the donation drive and more than 1,000 New Hampshire citizens donated materials from all over the state, including donation deliveries from Manchester, Nashua and Keene. New Hampshire’s generosity is part of the amazing community spirit that makes our state the best place to live, work, and raise a family,” he said.
Rodriguez of Manchester, who has family in the town of Yauco, helped lead the effort to collect and distribute items to those in need by launching a collection drive through Manchester Central Little League. When she couldn’t find a way to get the items to Puerto Rico, she put the word out, and Sununu responded. Rodriguez was invited to attend a September press conference in Concord during which Sununu announced that New Hampshire was going to mount a statewide collection drive.
Rodriguez has been doing her best to keep in contact with her family, and is planning to travel to Puerto Rico Nov. 10 to spend some time with them – and roll up her sleeves.
“I’ve been in contact with the mayor of my town, and will be doing a little bit of volunteer work while I’m down there,” Rodriguez said.
Juan Aleman, who moved to Manchester from Puerto Rico last year, still has family in Trujillo Alto. He says conditions in Puerto Rico are dire.
Officials say the reported death toll of 49 may actually be much higher – as many as 450, according to a recent USA Today report. Water-borne diseases like leptospirosis are beginning to take a toll on residents, who remain in unsanitary conditions without fresh water or electricity.
According to the CDC, symptoms of the disease can include high fever, jaundice, red eyes and body pain.
“Disinfectant products would be of great use in this case. There are still people in the mountain regions that are trapped within their homes that have no connection to the outer world. Most citizens that have the availability of these commodities are leaving the island with a heavy heart and no return date, because they have their children in mind and their future,” says Aleman.
“Schools are closed and being used as refuge for those who lost their homes. This is a heartbreaking situation, as I left a year ago looking for better opportunities in life, and ended up in New Hampshire. I barely have communication with my family and I know that there are others who have yet to even say a word to theirs. For those who can, I ask for your help. For those who can’t, I ask for your blessings and to spread the word to those who can help. We can all, as Americans work together in hopes of a better tomorrow,” Aleman says.
