Puerto Rico: 8 Months After Hurricane Maria
I came to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on the 8th of May.
I chose to come to these islands to raise funds to buy solar panels for regions where they still don't have electricity, and a few prep-projects.
The center of the main island, and the south east side, still don't have power, and neither do either of the smaller Puerto Rican islands off the east coast, Culebra & Vieques.
The more I heard about Vieques, the more I fell for this underdog island.
I want to clarify that there are places which are thriving, and back to normal in Puerto Rico. But my thoughts go to those who have had it so rough that they STILL don't have electricity, and are facing a new hurricane season right now. My projects are focused around empowerment and preparation for those. I also hope to inspire people to travel, exercise their immense internal & external power, while connecting with each other.
Here's the Story Behind Vieques
It's the island which was used as US Military testing grounds, up until 2013. It took the locals almost 10 years to finally get the military to stop testing Agent Orange in restricted areas of the east coast.. (THE Angent Orange) Google it if you're not familiar with it. I've also linked an article below about what it is, and what it does.
Given, they tested and bombed on grounds away from the residential, and even somewhat rural areas.
However, it takes 18 minutes to drive from north to south of the island, and about 1.5hours from coast to coast.. So when we're talking about Agent Orange, it doesn't take much for it to contaminate the soil, water, and air of this tiny island. Affecting plants, animals, insects, the food, the locals, and even the military themselves.
And as you can see, they were testing on the far east coast of the little island, right next to the National Wildlife Refuge.
Given, these areas are restricted from anyone entering, and supposedly being affected.
But, because the testing grounds were on the coast, it washed out to sea too. Along with other unexploded ordinance, which even ends up north of Vieques, around the other island, Culebra.
This is what we saw when I went sailing with a friend a few days ago.
The Caution and Danger Areas we were sailing over had unexploded ordinance on the bottom of the ocean.. A sad and scary thought..
What I'm Doing Here
I came here to help in any way I can.
I'm raising funds (fiat & crypto) to help purchase emergency solar panel kits for homes.
The kits come with 4 panels, 2 Keilo lithium batteries which can harness up to 14 hours of power, and an inverter. The package also comes with installation & a 12 year warranty. From the thousands of panels they have around Puerto Rico, only 2% of their panels were damaged by hurricane Maria. Their product's durability and quality already passed a big test.
The goal is empowerment and preparation for the current hurricane season which started . So that if another natural disaster occurs, people won't feel as devastated.
This brings me to the donations. With a collective effort of $300 in donations, households in need, got prep-kits.
The Prep-Kit Includes:
- A Mobile Coleman Butane Fueled Stove
- 2 Extra Cans of Butane
- 1 Extra Large LED Flashlight
- 2 Small LED Flashlights, with Extra Batteries
- Walkie Talkie Radios
- FirstAid Kits
The other project I'm working on is making mobile, vertical gardens with school kids, to take home.
Obviously this won't meet their family's consumption needs during a disaster, but when the hurricane warnings are announced, they can move their garden indoors. This allows people to feel more self-sufficient and less dependent on the over-priced fresh produce, due to a state of scarcity after massive tropical storms.
Aside from donations (big or small), I urge you to consider sending a regular envelope with one, or a few, packets of organic seeds for the gardens.
Clean Energy
The idea is that the solar panels power the home 8-10 hours by sun, and 12-14 by battery. This doesn't take them completely off-grid, but I'm hoping that they save enough on their electricity bills, that down the road may invest in another set of panels, instead of the two-set package.
The price I've been offered by Planet Solar is close to a 40-50% discount. If a households chooses to invest in more panels down the road, they will still receive the same deal, but may only need half of the package.
This is helpful for those who lost their savings to home repairs, and the cost of living during the initial months of pure survival.
The Little Islands
Culebra is more of a tourist town, which means that aid, food, and funds are prioritized to Culebra after the main island, and lastly, to Vieques.
In the beginning, the ferries weren't able to come in on some days with food, water or aid to Vieques, shooting water, food, and gas prices through the roof. Many have told me similar stories about having to use their savings for food & water in the first few months, and that the prices are still much higher than before Maria hit.
The Little Projects for These Little Islands
These are minor step-mini-projects, but I feel that these minor steps combined, can help prep and empower those who may face another natural disaster, before recovering from the last. It also creates a situation where people become more self-reliant, self-sufficient, creating enough strength to help a neighbor if need be, as opposed to everyone struggling equally..
Solar-Garden-Prep Projects
The Solar Panels help move everyone towards cleaner energy, self-sufficiency, and a closer community.
The Prep-Kits are for emergency cases.
The walkie-talkies have a range that covers the entire island of Vieques, to call out for help if the phone lines are down. They are rechargeable, but also run on batteries.
The mobile gardens offer some instant relief during the height of scarcity. As well as allowing children of the digital age, to create with their hands, while reconnecting with soil and seeds.
The stoves can be used for those without electricity to cook food. Included are 2 extra cans of butane, per stove.
And the flashlights are self-explanatory, so I won't bore you..
But if you want more info, feel free to watch my video at the top of the post. It's the picture of me with solar panels in the background.
If you have ideas on what else I can do, please feel free to comment below, and remember to resteem, and up vote to spread the word.
Click below to donate to the go-fund-me account:
https://www.gofundme.com/vbewy-light-up-puerto-rico
Or go with crypto!
This is the Bitcoin Cash Address:
qzqh4yyn9l3r942wqvtgghjzeuxkcal46ucvcjc80p
Comment below if you want to send another currency and I'll respond with the addresses.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.
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For more information about Agent Orange, read this article by Collective Evolution