Puerto Ricans in Florida help with the island’s water crisis
Puerto Rico has been grappling with a water rationing crisis for more than a month, prompting relief efforts from organizations like Boricuas de Corazón Inc., founded by Linda Pérez.
Pérez established her disaster relief organization Boricuas de Corazón, based in Tampa, to assist Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. But it helps several countries. The day we talked to Perez, her team organized donations for Colombia following a deadly earthquake earlier this month. “They are helping the Afro-Colombian community. They are the most impoverished area in Colombia,” Pérez said.
During that stop in Orlando to pack donations, Pérez reflected on the struggles her homeland continues to face nearly a decade after Hurricane Maria, including the impact on her 81-year-old mother.
“She was one of the one that have 17 days, then 14 days straight without no water, and then after that 14 days, three days without no power. And we said, you know, enough is enough right now,” Pérez said.
Her team has distributed 5-gallon water containers to help families store water, but Perez expressed frustration with the lack of systemic solutions. “We don’t need bandage. We need to fix it,” she said.
Fernando Rivera, director of the Puerto Rico Research Hub at the University of Central Florida, said the water crisis has been building for years due to a combination of factors, including Hurricane Maria, financial struggles and inadequate infrastructure.
“This is sort of a chapter of an, it seems like, never-ending saga for Puerto Rico in the last two decades,” Rivera said. He noted that accountability has been a challenge. “The government will point to one person. You know, the mayor of San Juan did actually file a lawsuit against the water company. The water company’s saying, like, ‘It’s not my fault. It’s this other fault.’ So, it seems like accountability is short nowadays,” Rivera said.
Despite the challenges, Pérez remains dedicated to helping her community. “Our organization, Boricuas de Corazón, means ‘Puerto Rican with our heart,'” she said.
As Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated, Rivera hopes people will remember the resilience and kindness of Puerto Ricans. “Our kindness that we show here, let’s show that kindness also to the people of Puerto Rico and spread that seed of knowledge and maybe come up with some solutions,” he said.