On January 24th, I had the honor of meeting the organization Somos Gente and seeing their latest project.

Somos Gente is a non-profit organization that formed after Hurricane Maria. Its founder, Joseph Cortés, was working in el Dept. de la Familia as a coordinator for el manejo de emergencias and during the hurricane, he was a leader at a shelter for families affected by the hurricane. He saw the needs of the families in the shelters, things that included mothers struggling to lactate, and primarily the need of services for single mothers. His experiences working at the shelters combined with the actions and words of the ex-president Donald Trump (refusal to aid PR, saying Puerto Ricans want everything done for them, saying Puerto Ricans don’t work for what they want, throwing paper towels at people, not wanting to accept the death toll, etc…) lead to him founding Somos Gente. He named the organization as a response to Donald Trump’s actions and words, “Somos Gente” in a literal translation, that translates to, “we are people”, but within Puerto Rican expressions, to say that means many different things: we are valuable, valid, worthy, hardworking. Joseph sought to affirm the humanity and work ethic, and strength of Puerto Ricans through the organization’s name. Through contacts with his family in Texas, he little by little brought services to PR and eventually founded Somos Gente.

The organization, as of today, has rebuilt 300 houses in PR, 19 of them being in Vieques (an important detail here that the organization wanted the blog entry to remark is that often, the municipalities of Vieques and Culebra are not remembered when trying to aid affected communities and due to their locations off the main island, during times of crisis after events such as hurricanes, their situations become dire between the destruction and need for boats to go in and out of them). During events like the Maria aftermath, earthquakes, and Fiona, the organization has distributed food, water, first aid resources and other necessities and items like tarps, tents, gas stoves, solar powered lights, and portable washers. Currently, the organization has 3 main programs: Valóralo con tus Manos (program dedicated to house reconstruction), Abraza an un Envejeciente (program dedicated to supplying help, resources, and necessities to the elderly, currently in the process of expanding the program to include supplying 3 meals a day) and the Programa Educativo (program that assists with different skill sets and targets families along with aiding single mothers in learning various skills that can assist in job hunting).

Currently, Somos Gente is repurposing a school in Ovejas, Añasco, which was closed down in 2017, into a community center (181 schools were closed in PR that year) that will in the future function with many different services. The building currently functions as their base of operations with classrooms being turned into storage rooms, offices, kitchens, full bathrooms, and rooms. During Fiona, they utilized the rooms as shelters for the community and when working on house rebuilding, they house volunteers in these rooms. Besides this, they are turning an area of the school into a digital library where they will have educative services for students to aid in assignments and a place where the elderly can be taught to utilize computers. They plan eventually powering the center with solar energy and seek to create a community garden of sorts along with the keeping of laying hens to direct the center towards self-sufficiency. These services would also be used to expand projects centered around children, teaching them how to plant and take care of the hens. The organization is also working towards a community kitchen.

I was received by the secretary of Somos Gente, Glorimar Ortíz Santana and one of their volunteer members, Denis Lagalez Soto and they spoke about how the entirety of the organization is comprised of volunteers. They showed me the different T-Shirts the organization has had, explained the current programs they have and spoke about the origins of the group. We were later joined by the founder, Joseph Cortes, and we all began exchanging ideas and experiences we have lived after events like Maria and Fiona.

Joseph remembered his thoughts during Maria: “Dios me inquietó y tenía que hacer algo.” He emphasized how what is needed is education, so people can be ready: “Se tiene que empezar con la educación.” Glorimar and Denis thought back to September 2022, to the communities they worked with after Fiona. They remembered how many people would at times cry due to them being the first people to show up to assist and conditions were becoming or were already critical. Denis made a comment which I still think about because of how human the statement is (it’s the best way I can describe it) and how well it describes the reality of how things are following disasters. He thought back to the feeling of seeing people waiting for them and how to see it can feel scary for two reasons: it highlights the need that exists for assistance and as someone trying to help somehow, you’re just really hoping you have enough for everyone. I can’t remember right now if this particular experience was the org supplying generators or diesel to power generators, but they also remark the feelings of relief people expressed and how people cried when they were finally able to turn oxygen machines on for loved ones who were in critical need of them. Hearing them speak of this made me wish more conversations like this were had and more exposure for these realities existed; they showcased the human portion of these realities, how these realities can feel really scary in different ways, the different types of services needed after disasters, the frustrations, sadness, and overwhelming feelings we get when faced with these realities and lack of support. Glorimar emphasized “Somos seres humanos.” From my perspective, I think it’s the fact that they keep their own and others’ humanity in mind when planning and thinking of services for times of need that has made them so successful and realistic in their endeavors.

Somos Gente has won 3 awards so far: Premio de la Excelencia al Servicio al Projimo (Prevención), the Medalla del Gobernador in the Ayuda al Projimo category, and the medal Premio Sister Sor Isolina Ferre. If you would like to see more of what Somos Gente does, please check out their website prsomosgente.org

It really was amazing meeting them and seeing all the work they’re doing. It’s so amazing to see how the former school is looking now, all the work being put in, the impact on the community they’re having. They were amazing people to meet and chat with and I’m so happy to see that there’s people that are doing so much for the community, to see people who still look towards the future with hope. There’s a quote they found inside the school, written on a board by a teacher before the school closed and when they went to begin renovating they found it and decided to keep it, they’re still trying to find who wrote it, it’s served as an inspiration for them since then: “No es el comenzar ni el final, sino el proceso para completar el capítulo el que define tu destino.”