Puerto Rico

Hurricane Maria destroyed an extremely fragile power grid for Puerto Ricans, impacting the standard of living, from education to health and economic development. Rural communities face the biggest challenges. A return to normalcy is a long way away.

Over a year after the hurricane, lack of access to consistent power in rural communities like Yabucoa will never be the same. There are many communities like this in Puerto Rico… hard-to-reach, rugged mountain neighborhoods that will always struggle to have access to traditional resources, mostly energy and clean water. This means that when nighttime comes, the ability to live a normal life slows down dramatically. Children can’t study easily, parents have challenges preparing healthy meals, families have reduced ability to engage and interact.

OHorizons specializes in developing simple solutions to some of the world’s most difficult problems. Since shortly after Hurricane Maria wrecked havoc on Puerto Rico through the end of 2018, we worked with last mile communities in Puerto Rico to implement stop-gap tools while long-term solutions to energy & water needs were deployed. Our solar-powered tools provided a reliable alternative, supplying lighting, refrigeration, home cooling, cellular recharging, and more. And our water purification filters ensured that anyone had access to clean water.

We spent time on the ground throughout many of the hardest hit areas, towns and communities. We focused on neighborhoods that are difficult to access and are least likely to receive help, like Yabucoa, as well as Rio Grande, Utuado, Jayuya, Loiza, and Humacao, where we distributed…