Tags and Comment Praying for Family in Puerto Rico
By Edwin Vázquez-Asencio, Sustainable Materials Management Specialist
Juncos municipality is in the eastern central region of Puerto Rico. Juncos' landfill receives approximately 35,105 tons of not-hazardous solid waste each yr. In 2017, winds from Hurricane Maria destroyed the facility's leachate drove organization, creating a serious health and prophylactic risk for neighboring communities and was at risk of contaminating underground water resource and nearby streams. The tempest'southward effects also reduced the landfill'southward capacity by xx% and severely reduced its predicted lifespan.
The main challenge was to define the projection and decide how the municipality could finance the necessary repairs that were imperative to accost this problem. Our goal was to protect the community'south health, assist them in achieving compliance, and back up the transition of the facility into a germ-free landfill organisation. In addition, the customs also needed to account for the chapters overflow due to the extraordinary corporeality of droppings which the landfill received in the aftermath of the disaster.
The RCAP Solutions staff served as a primal liaison between the municipality, stakeholders, and USDA Rural Development as we assisted the municipality in achieving compliance. Our technical assist provider coordinated and conducted a training about disaster aid grant funding and guided them throughout the process, outlining key elements to completing a successful application for USDA funds.
USDA Rural Evolution awarded Juncos' Municipality with $23.7 million in grant funding to repair its landfill facilities. The facilities will be expanded to achieve compliance, and in addition, the community'due south health will no longer exist at risk due to the impairment caused past the hurricane.
Estimados Colegas Valiosos, Compañeros de Trabajo y Comunidad:
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Hemos incluido información técnica de la Organización Mundial de la Salud sobre el agua, el saneamiento, la higiene y el manejo de desperdicios para el virus COVID-xix, así como la información más reciente de la Oficina de Servicios Comunitarios / Salud y Servicios Humanos, que ofrece orientación sobre estrategias de mitigación para una variedad de instalaciones.
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Sinceramente,
El Equipo de RCAP Solutions
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Contact: Maegen McCaffrey, RCAP Solutions
978-630-6714, mmccaffrey@rcapsolutions.org
Washington, DC (September 10, 2019) – The Rural Customs Assist Partnership (RCAP) and our northeastern regional partner RCAP Solutions is pleased to denote the receipt of disaster assistance funds from the U.South. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for three rural communities in Puerto Rico. These communities were badly afflicted past Hurricane Maria in September 2017.
The communities receiving assist are: Acuedouctos Barrio Guayabota Yabucoa, Inc.; Pozo de Agua, Inc.; and Comunidad Sector Los Gomez, Inc. The 3 communities combined received $169,571 in federal assistance from USDA.
"2017'southward Hurricane Maria created a monumental shift in how nosotros think nigh disaster recovery," said Karen A. Koller, RCAP Solutions President and CEO. "We were fortunate to have the showtime boots on the ground as our organization worked around the clock to assist communities and assess the tremendous damage washed to Puerto Rico'south small water systems. We applaud the USDA for providing the necessary resources for the revitalization and rebuilding of the Isle. Access to rubber and clean drinking water will only become more important as nosotros run across continued climate change. Creating sustainability for the long term in the Caribbean area will continue to be an ongoing priority for our team, who lives and breathes their vitally important work at RCAP Solutions."
Acueductos Barrio Guayabota Yabucoa is in Yabucoa, the eastern region of Puerto Rico. This water arrangement serves 600 families, and several small businesses and community organizations. The h2o arrangement is however severely affected by Maria and without power. The funding they received will provide generators and lab equipment needed for the system to increment compliance with the Rubber Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Pozo de Aqua is in Caguas, the central mountain range of Puerto Rico, and provides drinking water to approximately 183 families. The water system needs extensive repairs from amercement caused by Maria. The funding they received volition replace pipes, wells and other equipment and help prepare the system for whatever time to come disaster.
Comunidad Sector Los Gomez is in the central eastern part of Puerto Rico. Prior to Hurricane Maria, the system provided drinking h2o to 60 families, but the system lost power for half-dozen months post-obit the disaster. The USDA funding will allow the community to replace damaged equipment and purchase a new generator. Because Maria damaged the water tank and well, the community is planning a second phase of funding to evaluate soil conditions to decide if next steps are needed to ensure the organisation is safe for all citizens.
"Even before Hurricanes Irma and Maria came through Puerto Rico, our team has been working with some of the smallest, most remote areas across the island. The tremendous support that our team in Puerto Rico provided to these communities was critical in securing these funds for three of the isle's hardest hit and lowest capacity areas," said RCAP CEO Nathan Ohle. "The success each community had in securing these funds is exactly the reason the RCAP network is working to build capacity in small-scale communities across the country and is a testament to the incredible work the squad at our partner RCAP Solutions is accomplishing every day."
Nigh RCAP:
RCAP is a network of nonprofit organizations working to ensure rural and small communities throughout the United States accept increased chapters to bulldoze access to safe drinking h2o, sanitary wastewater, economic evolution and disaster recovery that leads to economic prosperity. To learn more about this work visit: rcap.org.
About RCAP Solutions:
Established in 1969 as Rural Housing Improvement, RCAP Solutions' mission is to foster personal and public self-reliance and improve the quality of life for individuals, families and the communities in which they live. RCAP Solutions is an integrated community development system serving the rural northeast, Caribbean, and Worcester county region for housing assistance. RCAP Solutions is the Worcester County affiliate of The Regional Housing Network (RHN) of Massachusetts and the Northeast affiliate of the national Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) Network based in Washington D.C.
RCAP Solutions Holds Offset Spanish "Workshop In A Box"
As part of our ongoing efforts to serve various, rural communities, RCAP Solutions held its first all-Castilian workshop in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico in June. This interactive workshop, which has been administered past our Technical Aid Providers in English on a regular basis, helps operators and board members identify areas for improvement that are critical to success at their utility. The workshop focuses on ten cardinal direction areas of finer managed water utilities, which make up a framework for a complete and well-rounded direction approach.
Amongst the more two-dozen attendees were participants from 8 dissimilar systems, including one from the municipal government, besides as Mr. Julio Chevres – a loan officer from the USDA Rural Development office in Caguas. RCAP Solutions' six Technical Assistance Providers stationed in Puerto Rico as well welcomed Sarah Buck, Manager of Regionalization at our national affiliate, the Rural Community Assist Partnership. Sarah helped our TAPs facilitate the grooming.
In addition, Yabucoa Mayor Rafael Surillo stopped by to give thanks the attendees and RCAP Solutions for their hard piece of work. Mr. Surillo had previously requested technical assistance from the USDA after the devastation from Hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017. Both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are nonetheless feeling the effects of these storms, and RCAP Solutions continues to assist communities mend their water infrastructure and administer solid waste matter clean-up.
Sarah Cadet (Director of Regionalization, RCAP Inc), Yabucoa Mayor Rafael Surillo, and Josefa Torres-Olivo (Manager of District 3, RCAP Solutions)
To view all of the photos of this event, cheque out our Facebook page. Photograph Credits: Carlos Velazquez-Figueroa & Sarah Buck
"Y'all don't know how happy I am." RCAP Solutions' team in Puerto Rico recently held a review session that yielded impressive turnout and results
A few months ago, the Puerto Rican Treatment Found Operators Board of Examiners appear an exam for electric current and would-be drinking h2o handling plant operators. Equally a result of this proclamation, several communities requested assistance in preparing. RCAP Solutions' team in Puerto Rico quickly arranged a free preparation session, opened registration, and just as quickly filled all of the available spaces.
The training session was conducted in November 2018 and covered areas of math, biological science, physics, and chemistry – as well equally other topics like rubber, equipment maintenance, regulation, and public health. The goal was to aid prospective operators who already had bones knowledge of how to treat community systems by giving them a "refresher course" regarding topics that would exist on the exam.
The session attendees who took the test recently got their results back. One participant who passed with an infrequent score told us, "You don't know how happy I am, this means a lot to me in many means. I felt I needed to tell you guys the swell news first. Information technology was not the first time I took the exam and the preparation was a difference this fourth dimension. Thanks to all [at the] RCAP squad."
Juan Campos Collazo, our Community Development Specialist in Puerto Rico, led the training and was assisted by Carlos Velazquez-Figueroa, a Wastewater Technician. Campos Collazo expressed his thoughts, "The relationship between [the participants] and RCAP Solutions is an open i, with confidence to talk about their experience in the field and to ask questions. They accept the opportunity to exist themselves, be taken seriously, and be treated with respect."
He continued, "The refresher preparation is maybe their best hazard, for some of them – the only risk, to fix for the Operator Certification Examination. I would add together that this is the best investment for the required try, as a certified operator will be more careful in the operation of a system in order to keep his license and will rely on ameliorate operation practices, thus producing more than reliable drinking water." He finished his thoughts with one final statement nearly the sessions, "We should keep doing them."
Acueducto Rural Guacio, is a customs water system located in San Sebastian Municipality of Puerto Rico. Guacio is a low-income customs were 57.nine% live below the poverty line with a median household income of $14,463. The channel provides drinking water to 85 rural families, most small farmers of minor crops.
The water system consists of 2 deep wells and a 52,000-gallon capacity distribution tank in which h2o is treated with a tablet chlorinator. The drinking water is distributed by gravity to all members and the customs charges a flat rate of $20 per family per calendar month for water consumption. The RCAP Solutions Technical Assistance Provider (TAP) assisted Guacio by helping submit a proposal that would provide funds necessary for the installation of private h2o meters.
With this improvement, the community was in the procedure of shifting from a flat charge per unit charge to one based on cost per consumption. The TAP assisted the community past helping to gear up the new payment construction, merely the projection was put on hold due to damage created from Hurricane Maria. The organization suffered several broken pipelines due to landslides, but were able to rapidly repair and replace them. Since there was no electric power to operate the system, they tried to operate it with a generator, but it was damaged, and the customs was without water service for more than 3 weeks.
Due to the emergency, RCAP Solutions was assisting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Health in completing drinking water assessments in rural areas. Subsequently performing Guacio'south assessment, RCAP was able to provide and install a new generator with aid from the EPA, Federal Emergency Management Bureau (FEMA) and Water Mission, another nonprofit system with a focus on clean water solutions.
As a result, the community was once again able to operate the water system and provide safe, clean drinking water to the entire community. They were incredibly grateful for the piece of work RCAP Solutions offered, and their partnership with Water Mission in providing the generator and bring power to the water system.
"Today, the 19th of October, we would like to give thanks to RCAP Solutions and H2o Mission for recognizing and prioritizing the need in this area. Nosotros are a small non-profit customs water arrangement (Non-PRASA) that provides water to 86 families. We are well organized and well managed and take been successfully providing h2o for many years. For the terminal month, to go on our system open and serving our well-nigh xc families, we had to manually throw water into our distribution organisation to keep things flowing without the electricity that ordinarily runs our pumps. We are very proud that we kept our system going since many other systems with similar problems were airtight. In the terminal iii days it has been a miracle that RCAP helped us to overcome a calendar month of extreme sacrifice and get our arrangement back to running normally. Thank God for RCAP Solutions and what they have done to help us–there are no words to properly address our gratitude."
– Teresa Torres Quiles, from Aqueducto Rural Guacio, San Sebastian municipality of Puerto Rico.
Click here for more information on our Achieve Out to Puerto Rico & USVI Campaign.
The Hannaford Cause Bag program is designed to support local nonprofits through the sale of their reusable Hannaford Helps purse.
RCAP Solutions, Inc. was selected by Hannaford store leadership every bit the November beneficiary of the programme at the 21 Timpany Boulevard, Gardner, MA Hannaford store. For every Hannaford Helps reusable bag with the practiced karma message purchased at the Hannaford Shop in Gardner, MA during the month of November, RCAP Solutions, Inc. volition receive a $1 donation.
"This is an exciting opportunity for RCAP Solutions equally we boot off our holiday season giving campaign," said Karen A. Koller, President & CEO. "Our focus this year is to raise funds to help Puerto Rican hurricane victims. With this initiative, we're providing an opportunity for the greater Gardner area to support those in the U.S. Caribbean area territories as they struggle to rebuild their lives and stabilize their time to come."
The funds raised will be divided into ii distinct categories. The first volition exist directed towards the firsthand demand of providing emergency housing and back up services to those who have chosen to resettle either temporarily or permanently in Massachusetts. The second will be deployed over the coming months to assist with reconstruction and economical recovery projects to those on the island of Puerto Rico.
"RCAP Solutions is uniquely positioned to assistance those who have been devastated by the contempo hurricanes," continued Koller. "With our housing efforts in Worcester County and a seasoned technical aid squad in Puerto Rico, RCAP Solutions is ready and able to run across the needs of those who so desperately need our vital services."
RCAP Solutions has fix a goal of raising $20,000 during the holiday season to support these two important initiatives.
About RCAP Solutions, Inc.
Established in 1969, RCAP Solutions mission is to foster personal and public self-reliance and improve the quality of life for individuals, families and the communities in which they alive. RCAP Solutions is a comprehensive nonprofit community development corporation that works with communities of all sizes to accost a wide range of needs. RCAP Solutions is part of a coordinated nationwide network with an integrated, multi-faceted approach to delivering high-quality services customized to each community's unique requirements. For more information, please visit http://world wide web.rcapsolutions.org/.
For more information on the Hannaford Cause Bag programme, visit hannaford.bags4mycause.com.
Pictured from left: Josefa Torres-Olivo, District Director of Puerto Rico & U.S.V.I.; Edwin Vazquez-Asencio, Sustainable Materials Direction Specialist, Customs Resources; and Juan Campos Collazo, Community Development Specialist, Community Resources.
RCAP Solutions staff members were finally able to return home to their families in Puerto Rico after being in the states since Monday, September 18, before Hurricane Maria hit later that week. The three Puerto Rico based staff members were in Massachusetts for an all staff coming together and were and then stranded in Florida for ten days awaiting a render flight to the island.
The following email bulletin went out just before getting on the plane:
"Simply to let you know that we are leaving Florida in a couple of minutes. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, information technology'due south going to be an emotional solar day when nosotros finally become together with our families. We volition stay in contact if possible! A long journey ends and, a new one will offset today. Please proceed usa in your prayers for force and health so we tin aid others and heighten from the adversity every bit nosotros are good people and stronger than ever!"
Our thoughts get out to all those in Puerto Rico, the U.Due south.V.I. and the many others as they recover from the crippling effects of the recent hurricanes and other natural disasters. For about 50 years, RCAP Solutions has been a vital resource to those in rural communities when they have critical demand for assistance. Nosotros're working with our staff and partner agencies in those areas to assess the most pressing short term and long-term needs. In the coming weeks, we'll be outlining new initiatives that will provide funds and aid to those in need equally they work to rebuild their homes and communities.
Capitanejo, Guaraguao, Guayabal and Rio Cañas Arriba are rural barrios in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico (PR) which are served through a USDA-RD Solid Waste Grant.
Since the fall of 2014 RCAP Solutions has provided technical assistance to overcome ane of the nearly noticeable problems in these communities: the improper disposal of solid waste. Even when the municipality provides services such as weekly trash collection and monthly or bimonthly debris removal, many customs residents do non participate in these initiatives to reduce solid waste generation. This demonstrates a current lack of interest or knowledge near how to solve their mounting solid waste disposal situation. The about probable reason for this behavior is a lack of environmental educational activity and a low level of awareness of both the problem and its short and long term consequences.
Limited resources and an emphasis on funding and support in urban areas make it challenging to educate and assist rural residents. Important government supported initiatives like the Single Use Plastics Bag Ban (PR Human activity 247), which went into effect on Dec 31, 2016 are very important because they pique the interest of not merely urban but also rural communities.
RCAP has conducted eight workshops this yr about the reasoning behind the passage of the "Plastic Bag Ban" in rural customs schools to brainwash both students and teachers. They take learned the importance of this act and how they will benefit in terms of their health and the improvement of the surrounding natural environment.
The main goal of the initiative and RCAPs work effectually Solid Waste material in PR is to initiate a process in which reduce, reuse and recycle tin be a part of the local culture. A change in adult behavior can be promoted through the pedagogy of their children concerning solid waste product problems and uncomplicated, affordable solutions. The kids take and will go on to assist RCAP in its efforts to modify the community's learned bad habits and transform them into new positive ones.
"Information technology's been an fantabulous experience for our students to participate in the RCAP Solutions Workshops. The ways in which the concepts were taught were great: age advisable for our students, very concise, using appropriate vocabulary, and captivating students' attention. All teachers have expressed positive feedback. Our students are putting into practise what they learned in the workshop…and we hope to receive more workshops nearly recycling presently."
Prof. Juan Cesari Delgado, Director of Capitenejo Schoolhouse.
Edwin Vázquez-Asencio, Sustainable Materials Direction Specialist, RCAP Solutions, Puerto Rico
Collores is 1 of the virtually named barrios in Juana Díaz PR. Information technology was the birth place of poet Luis Llorens Torres, one of the most important journalists of the first decades in the 20th century in PR. Every bit a lawyer, playwright, politician and poet, he was responsible for the immortalization of the beauty of the rural areas of Collores in his writings. Just in recent decades some of the beauty of "El Valle de Collores" was lost as a upshot of poor management of the solid waste.
Due to the collaborative strategy and the efforts between the "Solid Waste Taskforce" members and the communities, nosotros can appreciate a positive change. The Natural Resources Section contacted RCAP to refer a situation with the establishment of an illegal dumping site in the Agustinillo Sector at the road 512 km 4.two. The identify near the river is been used for the aggregating of solid waste material for future pickup by the municipality. Using the information in the RCAP solid waste brochure published in the customs newspaper, some residents called the DRNA Vigilant Corp. to complain about the problem. The lieutenant in charge, looking for a more than proactive way to deal with the state of affairs, oriented the residents in the sector and some interviews were made by RCAP TAP.
"The residents who concur with this practice alleged that the area was designated by the municipality employees who collect the materials. They also claimed that the collection service has been delayed for a few weeks; co-ordinate to them, perhaps more than ii months."
With the assist of the DRNA the residents were oriented about the consequences of that practice for the environment, the river and their health, also the legal penalties associated with the intervention from the DRNA and the police.
The customs ceases the practice and contacted the municipality officers for the collection with the information provided during our intervention. TAP telephone call the Juana Díaz DTOP Manager to let him know about the state of affairs and coordinate the removal of the materials. The DRNA on their part contacted JD DTOP to require activeness on the collection of the materials. The municipality took activeness immediately.
With the participation of residents of the Agustinillo sector, TAP performed a cleaning and restoration of the area used for illegal dumping. The small illegal dumping site in progress was stopped and eliminated. The place was programed for the developing of a land scape that will exist adopted by community members. Community groups such as; the Colectivo Valle de Collores, were involved in the procedure and additional members of other sectors will exist contributing with the design of a landscape.
The DRNA donated owned bushes for the place. The activity was reported to the Regional Offices of DRNA and all stakeholders, as a result of this, the State Section of Transportation and Public Works collaborated with the initiative and invited the community to their nursery for orientation and selection of other ornamental plants. The adoption of the area is going to exist fabricated formally by DTOP. The residents are in the process of developing a project in which they can integrate food crops and ornamentals in the surface area in lodge to address the interest of residents with different interests. Some banana trees were planted in the groundwork as suggested by the some of them.
The PR Natural Resources Department Vigilant Corp was nowadays on the cleanup and the possible violators of the law were identified for orientation about the situation and the possible repercussions of their behavior. A sign donated by Colectivo Valle de Collores was placed in the area with a positive bulletin: " Isla Adentro: peces, flores, pájaros, aire puro, aguas cristalinas…
After a few months the place remains clean and the donated plants are in the surface area waiting for the concluding design and the pinnacle soil conditioning. Collores is going back to be the idyllic place nostalgically described by one of its favorite sons; who immortalized its rural beauty before the solid waste product were function of the scene. Thanks to the team work of the taskforce created past RCAP and the community back up Collores is irresolute for good; the empowerment of the community is taking place in the solid waste management and we are convinced of the success of or approach.
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Source: http://www.rcapsolutions.org/tag/puerto-rico/
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