Puerto Rico may be an island that is 2000 miles away from Mahomet, but students at Mahomet-Seymour Junior High will learn about how the event touches home this week.
MSJHS Math teacher Jonathan Ramirez is a Puerto Rican native, whose mother still lives Puerto Rico.
Ramirez moved to Illinois to attend Lincoln Christian College where his mother and siblings also attended. His grandfather taught at the college.
His parents moved to Puerto Rico almost 50 years ago as missionaries. His father has since passed away.
“My mom is fine,” Ramirez said. “But she’s one of the very few lucky, blessed people.”
Ramirez’s mom lives on the second story of a concrete house in Puerto Rico’s capital, San Juan. His mother’s car was also untouched even though the car right in front of her car was damaged.
Since the storm, his mother has had intermittent electricity and non-drinkable running water. Knowing the storm was coming, his mother stocked up with 50 gallons of water and food.
But, like Ramirez said, not everyone in Puerto Rico is so lucky.
The Ramirez family spent a month over summer break so the children could learn to speak Spanish at a Christian school. Many of the teachers in the school lost everything during the hurricane.
After Hurricane Maria hit the island almost a month ago, Ramirez and his wife felt compelled to help the land they love, but realized that going to the island may not be the most effective way to help at this point because “it would be another mouth to feed.”
The family also thought about sending money to the Red Cross or another organization that will provide the necessities such as food and water to the general population of 3.4 million people.
But in the end, Ramirez has decided to help one family, a family of a teacher at the school his children studied at, get back on their feet.
In order to raise money, Ramirez has put together a four-minute video for students to watch before Mahomet-Seymour Junior High kicks off a Change Drive this week.
Students are encouraged to bring in pennies, coins, bills or checks made out the Mahomet-Seymour Junior High by Thursday to help Jorge Collado, his wife, and two young children get back on their feet.
When the hurricane came through, winds ripped the roof off of the Collado home. Rainwater and mud destroyed all of their possessions including the home.
“They’ve been living in a school with cots and air mattresses, but really not much else,” Ramirez said.
On top of not having a place to live, the Collado family, much like the rest of Puerto Rico is without work at this time because roads are damaged and power has only been restored to about 10 percent of the island.
“There’s no electricity, no water, no roads, the island is literally at a standstill; no one has a job because they can’t get to their job,” Ramirez said.
The Collado family was able to move into an apartment this weekend, and Ramirez hopes that with the students the community raises through Mahomet-Seymour Junior High, the Collado family will have a resource they need to get back on their feet.
“They need to restore their lives,” he said.
Money will be collected in all first hour classes. Ramirez has secured donuts for the classes that raise the most money in each grade.
Although Ramirez has heard from his mom, many families have not heard from their loved ones in Puerto Rico. On one phone conversation, his mom told him that like in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the Puerto Rican people are coming together to clean up and restore the island.
“From what I’ve heard from my mom, the hurricane has brought people closer together,” he said.
“Your job is to go out with a chainsaw, machete, a hacksaw and cut down trees and clear off road, to get out your brooms and help sweep out the mud from people’s homes. Your job is to just help people rebuild things.”
But there are others in Puerto Rico who cannot get the help they need because supplies are low or they are landlocked by roads that are impassable.
“People are dying even today,” he said. “People are dying on a regular basis now because of the lack of medical supplies, power for hospitals, people can’t keep insulin refrigerated.”
“They assume that when they get to go door to door, they will find a lot of bodies of people who died.”
Through the video and raising money, Ramirez hopes students will understand the importance of coming together to support each other, even if that person is 2000 miles away.
