Puerto Rico Emergency Readiness and Earthquake Disaster Relief Fundraiser
"Freedom is the sense of being capable of actions motivated solely by love." - Rudolf Steiner
In the second week of January, as we ushered in a new decade, we prayed for growth, we meditated on new beginnings, but we did not expect that these thoughts would be met with the earth shaking us to our knees. When the ground softened and every parent checked on their child(ren), we were grateful for all that we had.
But then the lights went out, the water stopped flowing, and the panic set in. Our neighboring towns had not fared as well as us. Historic churches crumbled, houses faltered, and our neighbors stood in their streets in the darkness confused by the scene before them.
We have been lucky to be far enough from the epicenters that our damage hasn't been too bad. But thousands of people on the southern coast of Puerto Rico were not as lucky. Homes and businesses were destroyed, and people are still sleeping in tents, living in fear that the ground will start shaking again at any moment. Still, with the damage to the power plant in Guayanilla, the whole island was plunged into darkness — again — and without power there are no pumps, so water stopped flowing all over the island — again. In other words, this has been a difficult time for everyone in Puerto Rico right now, even those of us who have not suffered unthinkable loss.
Relatively speaking, we are blessed to be in Aguadilla where we can help those worse off on the other coast, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. Escuela Micael Waldorf, has been organizing drives to bring food and supplies to the people most dramatically affected. Locally, the school has also opened its doors to share our solar-generated electricity and rain-caught water with our community.
We are collecting donations to help in two separate ways. The first is direct support to families living on the south side of the island where the destruction has been life-shattering. Many families are living out of their cars and in tents and Escuela Micael is dedicated to finding a way to support them through rebuilding efforts. Secondly, we will ensure that our school has enough on-hand supplies to care for our students should a devastating earthquake happen on the north side of the island. This portion of the money will be spent on items such as - water filters, emergency food, as well as ensuring that our school has the ability to respond to such natural disasters. All donations received will be split 50/50 between these two initiatives.
Escuela Micael is a non-profit organization and any donations you make are tax-deductible (Tax ID: 90-1054728). You can donate through our PayPal account here: paypal.me/escuelamicaelpr
"Vivir en el amor por la acción y dejar vivir por la comprensión de la voluntad ajena, esta es la máxima fundamental del hombre libre." Rudolf Steiner
Durante la segunda semana de enero, mientras iniciábamos una nueva década y meditábamos sobre un nuevo comienzo la tierra se sacudió bajo nuestros pies. Después que dejó de temblar y cada uno de nosotros indagó sobre el bienestar de nuestras familias, vecinos y amigos, dimos las gracias por todo lo que teníamos. Más sin embargo, el miedo comenzó a invadirnos. Los daños a la planta de energía eléctrica en Guayanilla causaron un apagón que dejó a toda la isla en plena oscuridad - de nuevo - y sin electricidad no operan las bombas de agua así que dejó de fluir el agua por toda la isla – muy similar a lo ocurrido luego del Huracán María.
Nosotros en nuestro pueblo de Aguadilla, al estar alejados de los epicentros de los sismos corrimos con mejor suerte que nuestros pueblos vecinos. Entre toda esta conmoción, nuestros vecinos se mantuvieron en las calles a obscuras confundidos por todo lo que sucedía a su alrededor. Los daños ocurridos en nuestra comunidad inmediata no han sido tan devastadores, más sin embargo, miles de personas en el sur de Puerto Rico no corrieron con la misma suerte. Muchos hogares, negocios y estructuras históricas fueron destruidas y aún hay miles de personas viviendo en casetas de acampar ya sea porque lo han perdido todo o por puro temor a que la tierra se vuelva a estremecer en cualquier momento.
Este ha sido un momento muy difícil para todos en Puerto Rico e incluso para todos los que no hemos sufrido pérdidas inimaginables. Hasta cierto punto estamos bendecidos al estar en Aguadilla desde donde podremos utilizar nuestros recursos para ayudar a los más afectados en la costa opuesta de nuestra isla, y eso es exactamente lo que estamos haciendo.
Escuela Micael Waldorf ha estado organizando ayudas para llevar comida y otras provisiones a las personas que han sido severamente afectadas por los sismos. La escuela también ha abierto sus puertas a la comunidad para compartir nuestra electricidad generada por energía solar y nuestra agua proveniente en parte por recogido de lluvia .
Si estás buscando una manera de apoyar a la gente de Puerto Rico a sobrevivir este desastre natural, te invitamos a hacer una aportación económica. Estamos recaudando donativos con dos propósitos. Utilizaremos el 50% de los fondos para apoyar directamente a familias identificadas en las áreas más afectadas por los sismos en la costa sur de Puerto Rico. El otro 50% de los fondos recaudados serán utilizados para asegurar que nuestra Escuela Micael Waldorf pueda tener todos los recursos necesarios para atender a nuestros estudiantes de ocurrir un sismo catastrófico en la costa norte de Puerto Rico.
Escuela Micael Waldorf es una organización sin fines lucrativos y cualquier donación que hagas es deducible de impuestos (Tax ID: 90-1054728). Puedes enviar tus donaciones a través de esta cuenta en Paypal: paypal.me/escuelamicaelpr.
About Escuela Micael
“Educating the Hands, the Heart, and the Head”
As you walk in to the peach colored room with stained glass windows you smell warm bread baking and hear children playing. The children are building playhouses and inviting each other into their silk-curtained homes, bringing baskets of wooden fruits and vegetables to share. The teacher is attentively watching from a distance, while she hums and knits a jump rope for them to use outside. It is time to clean up; the teacher stands and begins folding a cloth, still humming. A student walks over to help fold and the other students begin putting their toys to sleep in their baskets on the shelves. They all help set the table and sit down together for their organic vegetarian meal they each helped make. They bless their food, thanking the Earth and the Sun. The children enjoy their nutritious meal and then take their plate to the kitchen to wash. They quickly hurry back to their classroom for story-time.
Thank you for Donating!
If you are looking for a way to support the people of Puerto Rico through this disaster, wIth your financial support we could help even more. Escuela Micael is a non-profit organization and any donations you make are tax-deductible (Tax ID: 90-1054728). You can donate through our PayPal account here: paypal.me/escuelamicaelpr
Contact us
Tel.
(787) 890-0339
Email/Mail:
admin@escuelamicael.org
P.O. Box 6161, Aguadilla PR 00604
Address:
Carr. 110 Km. 7.5
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico 00603