Student charters planes to bring supplies to Puerto Rico

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Updated 2:29 pm, Sunday, October 15, 2017

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Carnegie Mellon student disturbed by stories from her native Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria decided to do something about it.

Rosana Guernica, 22, a junior majoring in decision sciences, heard stories about people getting off the island by chartering a private plane, so she got the idea of raising money for a plane to bring in medical supplies and evacuate sick people.

Her grandmother told her it was a crazy idea, but that's exactly what Guernica has done — twice.

Carnegie Mellon said in a Twitter post Saturday that Guernica is on her second trip to Puerto Rico this weekend with a team of volunteers from Carnegie Mellon. They are bringing supplies and hope to evacuate people.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Student-charters-planes-to-bring-supplies-to-12279737.php

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Student charters planes to bring supplies to Puerto Rico
Posted: Oct 15, 2017 3:07 PM CDT
Updated: Oct 15, 2017 3:07 PM CDT

PITTSBURGH -
A Carnegie Mellon student disturbed by stories from her native Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria decided to do something about it.

Rosana Guernica heard stories about people getting off the island by chartering a private plane. The 22-year-old got the idea of raising money for a plane to bring in medical supplies and evacuate sick people.

She brought 1,000 pounds (453 kilograms) of supplies to the island and brought back six evacuees on Oct 4.

. . .

http://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/36601184/student-charters-planes-to-bring-supplies-to-puerto-rico

[tblue37]

2. K&R for visibility. nt

[Igel]

3. People missed the news.

Somehow.

Although I must say, for the last week I've been out of the loop.

But until then they had a lot of supplies. It's just that they were piling up at ports of entry. It's one thing to get supplies to PR; it's another to get the trucks on clear roads to distribute them.

I even found the recent news amusing. "There are still places that need supplies air dropped into, without power for refrigeration." Meanwhile, somebody posts how a chef is putting together nice takeaway containers of arroz con pollo for distribution. Now, try airdropping those from 100 feet or delivering 5 days' worth of those to a town without electricity. Also note the strong implication that some relief is being done by individuals and groups.

We read one news story and miss all the obvious implications.

[SunSeeker]

5. The most important thing she is doing is evacuating the sick.

The hospitals of Puerto Rico don't have steady power. Some hospitals have no power. If you need daily dialysis or other treatments requiring electricity, your life is in danger in PR. She is saving lives by evacuating sick people.

[SunSeeker]

4. She is saving lives by evacuating sick people. nt

[DemSoc]

6. May Rosana's work soon inspire many others into action. Kicking! n/t