Dear Friends, It has been 80+ days since Hurricane Maria swept over the island, leaving a wake of devastation to our island home and creating an unprecedented disaster. Your hardships are known throughout the world, and people have opened their hearts to your plight. The movement to help Vieques by relief groups, people who have vacationed and fell in love with the island, stateside residents who own homes on Vieques, and other individuals has been overwhelming. Vieques will rise and be even stronger than it was before.
What is ViequesLove? How the ViequesLove team formed stateside-
The night of Sept 20th, I watched on TV from the safety of my parents’ house in Pennsylvnia as Hurricane Maria barreled toward my home, my loved ones, and my friends. I started the ViequesLove fund to raise money for whatever would be needed on the island after the storm. Friends who had lived on the island rallied around me to find relief in each other and in the belief that we could somehow help the island. Szaritza Vazquez, Brittany Roush, Steven Mueller, Robert Becker, Brooke Loucks, Katie Anderson and later Amy Gordon and Heather Knorr bolted into action, putting our lives, jobs and family obligations on hold to be ready to respond to the call of crisis. As I write this, we have raised over $900,000 from 7,241 generous donors from all over the world and accepted an estimated $1 million worth of in-kind donations. None of us on the ViequesLove team woke up on September 20, 2017 knowing that less than 24 hours later we would become the volunteer guardians of the enormous level of trust and expectation that has been bestowed upon us. That said, we are proud to have stepped into this role and we take this responsibility very seriously. -Kelly Thompson How the ViequesLove team formed on Vieques-
In the beginning it was chaos. Maria caught the whole island by surprise. But even before the shock wore off, it was incredible to see churches, community groups, schools, businesses and individuals pull together to maintain order, get help to those in need and start the daunting task of picking up Vieques. It was also very disheartening to see those who didn’t. There was a sense of contained panic, which we knew could quickly erupt if there wasn’t a structure in place to support the aid (or lack of aid) that was here. We assembled an outstanding group of people to work together. While Kelly pulled together a team in the States, we formed a ground team that includes Angie Adams, Claritza Navarro, Alexis Pimentel, Frank Sanchez, Alejandrino Colon, Izzy Troche, The VCHT, Wildalys Navarro, Franco Gonzales, Atabeira Torres Soba, the staff at El Blok, Paul Lutton. It was quite amazing really. We did so much in those first few weeks that I have started to forget it all. We saw so many people in need that it was hard to bear. I am sure, completely sure, that if it wasn’t for these people’s work, the island would have suffered much more than we have. But there is still so much to be done. The lack of a proper response is obvious, and we will continue to do whatever we can to facilitate the progress and pull together the resources of those who love Vieques and those who have a responsibility to work for the help we deserve. This is a historic time and a confusing time. The trauma we feel as an island can only be relieved if everyone recognizes their role in doing the right thing for Vieques. If you haven’t joined the relief efforts, start. If you have not found a way to help, find it. Our group and many other groups will help you, and together we can change the island. We recognize that within the chaos there is an opportunity to do things in a better way, the way that Vieques deserves. We need to empower people and fix our education, health and socioeconomic path to positively affect our security and our future. We need alternative energy and better waste management systems. We need to seize the moment to improve our education system and not dismantle it. We need to use tourism as a way to help rebuild and maintain the nature and culture of the island. We have to do this all with and for the people of Vieques, and with the support of the world. We need to become an example of how a community rebuilds and grows in a sustainable and locally empowering way. Let’s show the world what it should be doing. Within the darkness and the mayhem, we see a bright possibility for our future. Let’s come together to forge history the right way. – Mark Martin
We are so proud of what we have been able to accomplish, but the heroes of this story are you, the residents, who go about your day looking out for your neighbors, taking care of your children and grandchildren and lifting spirits with a smile even in the face of such hardship. We hope that this newsletter provides you with some helpful information but if there is only one message to remember, it’s that the world has opened its heart to Vieques. People know that you are suffering and have stepped up to help. The island is a special, spiritual place for many and has a light within that cannot be diminished. ViequesLove team:
Kelly Thompson, Mark Martin, Angie Adams, Robert Becker, Szaritza Vazquez, Brittany Roush, Steven Mueller, Brooke Loucks, Franco Gonzales, Heather Knorr, Katie Anderson, Amy Gordon, Adrienn Lanczos, Brittany Bresha, Cheo Diaz Maldonado, Claritza Navarro, Wildalys Navarro, Alexis Pimentel, Frank Sanchez, Alejandrino Colon, Izzy Troche, The VCHT, Alanis Pimentel, Olga Gallego, Atabeira Torres Soba, the staff at El Blok, José Carrasquillo ViequesLove is working under the umbrella 501c3 non-profit Corefi.