Response to Hurricane Maria: From emergency to building back better
After the hurricane struck, Oxfam focused on working with various local partners in providing emergency help in the form of water filters, solar lights, and legal aid. Today, our focus has shifted away from immediate humanitarian aid and into the recovery phase.
Clean Water
Training on water treatment and testing: Oxfam held workshops to train community leaders on development and application of low-cost methods for water treatment and rapid water testing.
Repair of water systems: The roughly 250 communities that are off the main water system in Puerto Rico are still struggling to repair local aqueducts. Oxfam helped unite a consortium of local organizations to form the Water Alliance, which is restoring water systems in rural and isolated communities, often with solar-powered pumps.
Legal assistance
Through the Foundation for Access to Justice, Oxfam is helping to provide legal aid to families who are still trying to receive emergency funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). At first, legal aid clinics helped people file claims; now they are helping them appeal rejected claims and prove ownership.
Alternative energy solutions
In coordination with the municipalities and local community leaders, Oxfam increased the safety of women and children by providing 22,271 solar lights to households without power.
Oxfam is supporting Casa Pueblo in Adjuntas in a program to bring solar-powered systems to rural grocery stores in three isolated communities, and to households in need. Casa Pueblo has been a leader in advocating for alternative energy as vital to long-term resilience.
Advocacy in Washington
Oxfam continues advocating on Capitol Hill and with the Administration, fighting for a just recovery for Puerto Rico. We have hosted numerous delegations in Washington, DC, featuring partners and local leaders from Puerto Rico who made their case directly to Members of Congress, Congressional staffers, and high-level FEMA and HUD officials.
We continue to push for more public input in the development of all recovery plans, as all community members should have a voice in how their neighborhoods are being rebuilt and how federal recovery dollars are being spent.
Research on gendered impact of humanitarian disaster
Oxfam led a research project on the gendered impact of lack of water and WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) on women in rural Puerto Rico. The resulting report, The Weight of Water on Women, provides a practical set of recommendations for humanitarian response and proposes new lines of work for a gender-sensitive WASH response.
Oxfam also commissioned research for a groundbreaking report, “Women and their voices: Strategies for survival and common strength after hurricanes Irma and María.” The report identifies the gender-specific ways women in Puerto Rico were affected by Hurricanes Irma and María, and the ways they reacted to these catastrophic events.
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