From left to right, Mario Vazquez, AVA tech, Nicole Rivera, Joselyn Figueroa, and Lori Silloway, staff at Ocala Preparatory Academy, all have family in Puerto Rico. Credit: Ocala Preparatory Academy

When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, Joselyn Figueroa was beside herself.

A student aide at Ocala Preparatory Academy, a private school that serves 50 students in Marion County, Fla., Figueroa did not hear from her parents for five days.

She could only wait, listening to news reports, stunned that a historic Category 4, near-Category 5 hurricane wrought havoc on the island she called home for many years.

She described the phone call that she finally received, after days of waiting, as “beautiful.”

“I needed to hear their voice to tell me, they are OK,” she said.

Her mother and father were safe but shaken by the storm. They lost their home. They now struggle to find food, water and medicine. Figueroa’s mother had a kidney transplant and needs to get her monthly medication. They live in the small agricultural town of Yauco. It was founded in 1756 and dubbed “Coffee City." It was once known as the global capital for the caffeinated crop. They don't know how it will rebuild.

“It is so frustrating for me,” Figueroa said. “I hear my mom tell me, 'Everything is destroyed around here.'”

She found support from the school where she works. It's home to several members of Florida's growing Puerto Rican diaspora. Its students and staff have witnessed the island's mounting humanitarian crisis from afar. And now, they are looking for ways to help. (more…)