Puerto Rican Heartache

My heart aches for Puerto Rico and the suffering of the people following Hurricane Maria.  So many in Puerto Rico live in poverty normally, that I can’t imagine what it must be like now.

I have visited Puerto Rico twice.  Both times, it was in connection with an arm of our church denomination.  My husband serves on a board that makes loans to Puerto Rican churches to purchase buildings and renovate them or buy land and build new churches.   While there each time, we visited multiple churches and had opportunity to interact with attendees of some of the churches.  On one occasion, we attended a church potluck dinner, which was a chance to eat “normal” local dishes as opposed to what one might find in a restaurant.

We stayed in lovely hotels on the beach, but across the street there were people living in cardboard boxes.  Poverty was too obvious to be ignored.  One day we rented a car and drove from San Juan to the southern part of the island.  The situation was even worse there.  I came home sad for what I had seen.  Certainly, I was encouraged by the spirit of the people in the churches, but once you are outside of the tourist area, the rest of the island is depressing.  I felt helpless, because the need was so enormous back then.

What now?  The island is destroyed.  People are without food and water and basic sanitation services.  Relief efforts are hampered by highways being impassable and ports not yet safe for ships to enter.  On the mainland, anyone could rent a truck, fill it with supplies and drive it to a needy area.  Power companies from unaffected areas can come in and help.  But we are talking about an island!

I am suggesting that anyone, who has the ability to do so, could make a contribution to an agency they know will provide relief without skimming too much off the top for administrative costs.  I have read recently of some celebrities making major donations, but I wish more of them would step up.  Does someone really need a private jet or an enormous diamond when there is so much human need? 

 

Information coming out of Puerto Rico is still scant.  I do not know how people I have met have weathered this.  I am praying for the people of Puerto Rico, and especially for those in the churches I have visited.  May God give them strength and provide for their needs.