Caguas, PR - Feb. 13-23, 2018
We can hear everything here. Cars passing, buses breaking, dogs yelping, garbage clanking, and competing music coming from various homes and bars. It can be disorienting. At times I’m not sure if the constant rapid thumping I hear is distant club music or my own beating heart. But in the heat of the day, when the breeze sweeps through the window shutters, it is the perfect place to sit and write.
I am staying for ten days. Three friends I came with are also here. We are in Caguas, less than an hour from San Juan, Puerto Rico’s capital.
My friends and I are sharing an apartment in the same complex as key organizers of Urbe aPie, the volunteer-run organization that’s hosting us. Our friends Zuleyka, Willow, and Ricchi live in other rooms on our floor, connected by an open-sky area in the center of the floor-plan.
We are calling it Casa del Cielo, I think both because of the open-air design, and in honor of SkyEsteban Rios who is the reason many of us are here. When Hurricane Maria devastated the island last September their cousin reached out for support and asked that instead of sending prayers, we send supplies. SkyE and Willow traveled to Puerto Rico with supplies just 67 days after the hurricane. Ricchi, who also has family on the island and similarly felt called to respond, teamed up with them on that trip. Willow and Ricchi decided to stay in Caguas and continue working with Urbe Apie while SkyE returned to the states, inviting more of us to come in February, to bring more than just material or economic resources, but also ourselves.
There is still much work to be done.
Hurricane Maria was hard on the island. Ripping away comforts like electricity and water as easily as she ripped trees from the earth. Some communities on the island are worse off than others. Fortunately, our friends in Caguas have some access to electricity and water, but still the solar panels and powerbanks we brought were gladly accepted and are frequently used.
Our room has no furniture, except for a white plastic lawn chair and a full-sized mattress on the partially tiled floor. It’s a simple space that just needs a little love to realize it’s great potential. This is the same perspective and devotion that I see as characteristic of our friends at Urbe Apie.
On our first day, Willow gave me and Benjamin a tour of the garden and adjoined building they call “La Garita” because of the distinct garrison in the top corner of the building. Both were abandoned and essentially ignored even before the hurricane. Now they have been made into a community garden, plant nursery, and community center where people spend time together, make art, study and work. And they are continuing to renovate and improve spaces for the common good.
Throughout my time in Caguas, I have witnessed so many examples of community and dedication. This group of young locals is determined to love a better world into existence, and actively work to make that a reality.
I have been to Puerto Rico once before, but not like this. It feels really good to be here with good friends. I love these people! Friends I already knew and new friends I am making here are helping me find motivation, inspiration, and hope. They are intelligent and passionate; I feel so grateful and amazed at what all can be manifested when our hearts are in it.
I posted this to my previous blog last year when I got back from this trip. I want to return and am in the midst of organizing a new service trip to Caguas.