Tesla became a media darling for their promises to power Puerto Rico. When they didn't pan out, young volunteers stepped up to do it themselves.
After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico’s society and infrastructure has been in dire need of help. Although organizations such as the Red Cross and FEMA were send there by United States, there was a clear lack of strong leadership.
My friend, Yasmeen Farooq, went to Puerto Rico to help those in need and noticed that very little was being done and one of the main problem was leadership. It was a situation of crisis but people were waiting for someone to tell them what to do and no one was taking charge themselves. The medical supplies were not reaching the patients who desperately needed them. There was no data monitoring of were the supplies were going or how much was being used. There were no clear goals for future improvement. There was lack of communications between the members. This might partially be due to the large size of the organizations such as Red Cross.
After Yasmeen noticed what was going on, she decide to take charge. She started writing reports of where the medical supplies were going, how much were needed, going door-to-door to see those who needed medical care, visiting hospitals, etc. She was so passionate about the issue that she founded an NGO organization called Generate Some Love.
Currently, I am working with Yasmeen to help Puerto Rico solarize hospitals, like Ryder. Therefore, in future, even without power the hospitals will be able to function as needed and continue working during an emergency situation.
You can help bring solar power to Puerto Rico’s hospitals by donating to Generate Some Love at generatesomelove.com
-Aditi Rafalia