On the heels of a Sustainability Summit coordinated by The Puerto Rican Agenda of Chicago in Puerto Rico, the Agenda held a press conference on Thursday, June 14, 9 at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture to present the Honorable Josian Santiago, Mayor of Comerío $40,000 for his municipality. The donation represents a down payment to retrofit an existing community center into a hurricane-resistant oasis with capacity to serve 700 people in Sector Juncia, Comerío; providing a place to shower, to wash and dry clothes, and to cook in case of a future hurricane. Additionally, through a partnership with Thermasteel, The Agenda will collaborate to build a model home with energy efficient materials that could withstand 200 mph winds. The donation to Comerío comes from a grant awarded to The Agenda by The Chicago Community Trust in recognition for its signature strategy of mobilizing resources and local relationships to provide Puerto Rico with a meaningful and immediate response to needs as a result of Hurricane Maria. During his visit to Chicago, Mayor Santiago joined Mayor Rahm Emanuel in continuing discussions on rebuilding Puerto Rico through leveraging renewable energy and sustainable resources while visiting Chicago for the Mayor Exchange facilitated by Open Society Foundation. Comerío is a mountainous town with thousands of families still living without electricity since Hurricane Maria. Agenda leadership provided an update on the 3Rs for Puerto Rico campaign: Rescue, Relief, Rebuild specifically focusing on the Adaptemos un Pueblo initiative and a response to the Harvard Study citing at least 4,645 deaths as a result of Hurricane Maria. In mid August a delegation from the Puerto Rican Agenda, along with a group of Puerto Rican leaders from Lorain, Ohio, will visit Comerío and Loiza to update the efforts of 3R’s 4 PR.
