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De Puente a Puente: Puerto Rico Staff Highlight
Alongside our partners and funders, LWB US’ Puerto Rico Project Coordinator Moreno Sánchez and Program Manager Alex Aldarondo facilitated the successful launch of a digitally-equipped learning hub in Loíza, Puerto Rico on October 21st, 2021. While this was a significant milestone, their work with the community has been years in the making and will extend far beyond the launch of the hub.
In 2018 during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, LWB US staff traveled to Puerto Rico and connected with Moreno Sánchez through his work with the Boys & Girls Club based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In the years following, LWB US cultivated a relationship with Sánchez and, eventually, brought him onto our team in 2021 as a full-time Project Coordinator. On our team, he describes his role as,
"Coordinat[ing] and support[ing] services and initiatives for the community in Puerto Rico. I am a bridge between LWB and our partners to bring tools and training to the communities that need it most to bridge the gap between knowledge and community."
As a grassroots activist, Sánchez has sustained deep connections with his community and its youth for nearly a decade.
"November will be 10 years of work in the community. I have a lot to be thankful for, this community has taught me the true purpose of life. Happiness, love, empathy, and perseverance are some of the characteristics of this community. For me, seeing children and young people participating in this new project gives me a lot of hope: they are the seed that was sown with love...[they were] cared for many years and now you can see the fruit."
So, what’s the story behind De Puente a Puente? In the fall of 2020, LWB US leveraged its partnership with local organization, Link Puerto Rico, to address challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and improve access to resources in three neighborhoods within Loíza: Sector La 23 y Las Gardenias, Piñones, and Tocones/Colobó. While these efforts initially began with the distribution of ConnectED Tech Kits, it became clear that there was a greater need for technology and health literacy resources. In his unique role, Sánchez identified the need for a centralized community hub for all members of the community, but especially for youth in Loíza who may not have previously had access to digital and educational tools. After receiving a grant from US Ignite through the National Science Foundation (NSF), LWB US was able to employ the resources needed to make the community hub– one of three that we will be implementing in Loíza– a reality.
When asked about aspects of the planning and implementation process of the community hub that stood out to our staff in Puerto Rico, Program Manager Alex Aldarondo emphasized the youth leadership that was present throughout:
"We organized our team and managed our work flow using agile tools and practices that allowed us to increase collaboration and effectiveness while co-creating a culture of trust and wellbeing for all involved. Another aspect that stood out is that the actual implementation of the vision and the actual work to get the community hub up and running. It was all led and coordinated by youth from the community. They showed a living example of what it means to get empowered and use the wealth already existing in communities to begin solving our own problems."
On their hopes for the community hub, Sánchez is optimistic:
“I hope that the community will find in these spaces a safe place, in which they can put all their talents and capacities to build a better community and a better Puerto Rico.”
Aldarondo points out similar hopes for community cultivation and involvement:
“[I hope] that the minds, hearts and efforts of all people involved in the community begin to perfectly align with the project implementation plan. I hope that community residents have the trust in us and the courage to come out to our activities and begin projecting their visions of their desired communities out into the structures we have prepared for them, which will in turn facilitate a process through which they materialize them on their own accord.”
