 We just all were on the same page. We couldn't just stand by and not do anything. After Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the island of Puerto Rico, was devastated, but Sabe Escobar rallied ferro-perturricans to form Borricuas in Berkeley. A response to the aftermath rooted in the mission to provide direct aid to those in need. She and her peers gathered resources to bring on the ground. She visited isolated villages on the island to deliver relief directly. And we went through house-to-house delivering water, delivering water filters, delivering water purification tablets and drops because that's the biggest concern right now for that community is access to clean water. And it's almost two months after the hurricane and they have no access to clean water. No wonder they have the most amount of cases of leptosporosis. For Rafael Rivera, he hadn't heard from his family for weeks with limited communication established. He's now able to speak to them at least twice a week. My mother, my family over there in Puerto Rico still don't have water or electricity, so they're still being affected directly by all this. Pablo Paredes Burgos says the issues the U.S. territory are facing are long-term and systemic. I just came back from the island from a short trip trying to provide some relief and it was devastating to see the violence of the hurricane and the violence of the continuous colonial relationship that hasn't allowed a lot more to be done. Residents he spoke with recounted the horrifying night the hurricane hit. People were between 10 and 12 hours locked in rooms or a lot of people locked in bathrooms and they literally watched their house be torn apart piece by piece. Natasha Fernandez noted the gap in aid distribution for communities forgotten in the conversation. Being in the metro area has been very privileging and when Donald Trump went to Puerto Rico those communities that are mostly okay were the ones that he visited. He didn't visit those communities who are really in need. He didn't go much farther than someone on his visit. Burgos encourages those who helped to reach out to grassroots organizations. He added that during his trip he not once encountered a federal aid official. Not to sell ourselves but when you know you're putting materials in the hands of somebody who's going to put it in the hands of folks on the island that goes a lot further and a lot faster and a lot more effective for folks who need it yesterday. When Trump visited Puerto Rico he lauded what he called a low death toll. Burgos says the number is much larger than most people think. Promoting the idea that there were 16 casualties in Hurricane Maria which is ridiculous. Everyone knew that that was a devastating undercount. We are now playing with numbers that are between 450 and over a thousand. Boricoz and Berkeley calls on the community to help in their upcoming events as a part of their efforts. I have to mention that we do have an upcoming event on December 17th in La Beña Cultural Center in the afternoon. There's going to be this huge Puerto Rican Christmas party but right on the outside of La Beña we'll be collecting basic need donations. Much like Boricoz and Berkeley the people of Puerto Rico are coming together as a resilient community. Reporting for CalTV News I'm Thomas