Puerto Rico Recovery to Take Years

“We were hoping to send volunteers to help with home repairs before Christmas,” said Bob Laarman, director of World Renew’s Disaster Response Services (DRS).

He traveled to Puerto Rico with World Renew DRS regional manager Len Blauwkamp in November to determine next steps in a response to Hurricane Maria, which made a direct hit on the island in September.

“But once in Puerto Rico and talking with several Christian organizations, we were asked to wait because they were not ready to host volunteers from the mainland U.S. Now that we are back in Michigan, we will continue to communicate with these organizations, and we hope to put plans in place soon to make inroads there after the new year.”

While in Puerto Rico, Laarman and Blauwkamp met with potential partner organizations.

“As in many of our DRS trips, God planned our connections for us,” Blauwkamp said, “from a volunteer whose daughter lives and works in Puerto Rico, to a church that reached out to us through a former Christian Reformed missionary to Puerto Rico, to FEMA personnel in Texas who connected us to counterparts on the island.”

These partnerships will come in handy as World Renew comes alongside Puerto Rican communities in their hurricane recovery.

“Compared to the progress of recovery in Texas, where the work is well under way, much of Puerto Rico is still in the immediate response phase of recovering from a disaster,” Blauwkamp explained.

Parts of Texas were damaged by Hurricane Harvey about a month before Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. While Texan communities are already moving ahead with home repair and disaster recovery, Blauwkamp said, Puerto Rico is still in need of emergency assistance.

“Some organizations are still distributing food and water to survivors. Electrical service is sporadic, especially in rural areas. One of the days we were there, the entire island was without power. In the capital, San Juan, we did not see any working traffic lights,” Blauwkamp said.

While in San Juan, Laarman and Blauwkamp visited with FEMA representatives as well as several other key contacts.

“We met a representative from the U.S. Department of Transportation, who is also a World Renew volunteer, and with the chair of Puerto Rico’s chapter of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster,” said Blauwkamp.

“We connected with a pastor who works in the east side of the island. Hurricane Maria landed there first, and the area is particularly hard hit. On Friday we drove to Mayaguez to meet with other people who are doing disaster relief work there. They showed us some of the damaged homes there.”

These visits will play a key part of World Renew’s planning as they gear up for their response to Hurricane Maria.

“Long-term recovery on the island will take many years, for sure,” Blauwkamp concluded. “It is working with local organizations that will allow us the opportunity to [effectively] serve the Puerto Rican people who were affected by Hurricane Maria.”