Waltham Church Responds To Puerto Rico Disaster

WALTHAM, MA — Waltham's population of Puerto Ricans has gone down a bit from a few years ago, but there's still some 3,000 in the city. So when Hurricane Maria ripped across the island smashing poles, and wreaking havoc on the power grid last Wednesday, it left many in Waltham shocked and worried as they waited to hear back from loved ones.

A week later and many Waltham residents still haven't heard from their extended families back in Puerto Rico following the news that the storm was the strongest to hit the US Territory in nearly a century. Those who have heard, have been met with descriptions straight out of a war zone.

(For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Waltham Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Also See: Getting Aid To Puerto Rico Is One Thing; Distributing It Is Another

The power is still out across most of Puerto Rico. Generators are providing power to the few who have them while they still have fuel, but nearly all the island’s 1.6 million electricity customers were still without power Tuesday, supplies as basic as water are in short demand.

That's where Neida Ortiz, president of Latinos en Accion in Waltham and the First Lutheran Church of Waltham come in. Together they're holding a drive to collect non perishables and items everything from diapers to batteries (though no clothes) to send to the US Territory.

Ortiz and the church began collecting items Friday and will be continuing to collect items every day 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until Oct. 3. That's when they'll box up what they have connect with another church group in the Boston area that's renting a private plane and flying the supplies to the island.

What's it like?

Ortiz who has family still in Puerto Rico didn't hear from her family for five days. Then, on Sunday she was in church when she got the call from one of her family members on her husband's side who called to let them know they were alive. She hasn't heard from her side of the family, but she did get word that they are ok, too.

It's a nerve wracking experience to watch the images on TV and hear about areas that were completely flattened, and now flooded by the storms, she said.

"This is an island. The only way off is by boat or by air," she said. Unlike the residents of Florida there was no place for Puerto Ricans to evacuate.

"What's so amazing is that it wasn't supposed to be doing so much damage, originally. People weren't really ready for it. ... That's what made things more difficult for Puerto Rico," she said.

'Heavy week'

Pastor Angel Marrero of the Lutheran Church heard a few more details about his parents in Puerto Rico.

"It's absolute devastation. The two story house where my parents live - the flooding from the local river came up to the second story," he said. His father got some sort of wound on his foot, and then an infection that started to spread. They couldn't reach doctors or hospitals because cause they didn't have power. It took 18 hours once they made it to a hospital before they could connect him with an IV and get him taken care of, he said.

"And that's my dad, he's lucky. We are on the very close to a humanitarian crisis," said Marrero who told him his parents described contaminated water and a communications system that had collapsed.
Police and the government are so busy rescuing people they don't have the manpower to distribute supplies to people, he said.

Marrero said in addition to taking donations to ship off, he's opened his church to sit with people who need to talk about what's happening.

"It's been quite the heavy week," he said.

"Puerto Rico needs a little bit of everything right now. It's going to need short term help, such as food water and medicine and then long term help. In long term it's going to be, quite frankly, money,"he said Tuesday as he was leaving a meeting with Puerto Rican community members in Boston.

The immediate focus, he said, was to collect water, diapers and medicine and get it to where people needed it. An evangelical church was renting planes to take stuff to the island, and, after researching to make sure it was actually getting there, he's partnered with them. The first shipment of goods will head out on Sunday, he said.

"We're also asking people for financial donations... and all those will be sent to organizations that are working on the ground. The money that we are collecting is not going to be given to the American Red Cross, or big organizations that are doing a lot of good but not necessarily needing the money on the ground, we are partnering with organizations that are on the ground and need the money right now."

Marrero said members of the community have been extremely helpful, including Councillor Carlos Vidal (whose wife's parents live on the island), Diane LeBlanc and the mayor.

Marrero of First Lutheran said he has been heartened at the response of the community.

"One of my big worries with all the things happening was that people do get tired. Mexico, Florida and Huston and then Puerto Rico? It has all been so quick. But the generosity has been quite overwhelming, people of all types of political affiliation, of all race have come to help. But it's the type of city Waltham is.
We are a city that feels like a small town."

That said, they are still looking for donations before the weekend.

"Do not forget about Puerto Rico. We are America. In the midst of the gossip, questions like is he an alien or is he legal, it's easy to forget about the real suffering that's happening there," he said. " So don't forget about Puerto Rico."

But, he takes heart after speaking to the Boston area Puerto Rican diaspora. Some 1.5 million people have left the island in the past decade, and in the state there is an estimated 300,000 Puerto Ricans. Waltham, he estimates has about 3,000 of those. And they're shining.

"The historic Puerto Rican community is organizing this is something that is very positive. We're politically organized and you'll see a lot of campaigning to push legislation benefiting Puerto Rico down the line," he said.

How to Donate:

First aid items, diapers, blankets, and water (but no clothes), bug spray, and batteries and flashlights can be dropped off at the church at 6 Eddy St. from 8 to 8 p.m. Monetary donations are also welcome. Make checks out to Waltham Latino, Inc and those can be sent to P.O. Box 550132 North Waltham, MA, 02455-0122. For more information please call 781-893-6563.

Hurricane Maria Relief Information
Saint Mary's Church
133 School St, Waltham, MA
Collecting any donations through Saturday, September 30th
Latinos en Accion
First Lutheran Church at 6 Eddy Street, Waltham MA
Collecting water, diapers, baby food and first aid supplies
Centro Cristiano de Adoracion
24 Lexington Street, Waltham MA
Collecting donations through Saturday, October 21st
See flyer here: http://www.city.waltham.ma.us/hurricane-maria-relief
Mass United for Puerto Rico
See here: http://www.tbf.org/puertorico
Other Relief & Recovery Options
See here: https://www.mass.gov/relief-and-recovery-resources-for-the-citizens-of-puerto

Photo credit: Carlos Giusti/Associated Press