Giving Compass' Take:

· Writing for the Surfrider Foundation, Mara Dias explains that a year later, Puerto Rico is still recovering from the damage of Hurricane Maria. 

· What is the best way to support the recovery of Puerto Rico?   

· Learn how  NetHope and Cisco have partnered to reconnect Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. 

Despite the passage of the 1-year anniversary since Hurricane Maria raged through the Caribbean, it’s not hard to find signs of the damage that Maria left behind in Puerto Rico. Physical damage to buildings, infrastructure and the coastline are still obvious blights.

And while electricity and most other basic services have been restored to most of the island, the dependability of those services remain unstable as the people in Puerto Rico continue to deal with intermittent blackouts and unexpected service failures for cell phones, internet and even water supply and delivery.  This slow recovery is certainly having a huge impact on the psyche of the people still dealing with these post-storm conditions.

In the months following Hurricane Maria’s landfall, one of the most critical needs in many communities was for clean sources of freshwater. Thankfully the Surfrider Rincón Chapter was able to partner with other local health and relief organizations to restart their existing water testing program to meet this need.  As reported by Public Radio International, Steve Tamar who leads Surfrider’s Blue Water Task Force water testing program in Rincón explains, “And, of course, you do it, because this is the community. These are your people, so whatever you can do to keep them healthy and informed, you do it.”

Read the full article about Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria by Mara Dias at the Surfrider Foundation.