Puerto Rico's Perseverance: Post-Maria

When the island of Puerto Rico met Hurricane Maria, no one was quite prepared for the amount of casualties and devastation she would leave in her wake. The category 5 terror is said to be the worst storm Puerto Rico has seen in the last 80 years, forcing over 100,000 residents to abandon the island and seek refuge elsewhere. For those who remained, picking up the pieces of their lives became the new normal. Surviving months on end without basic essentials like electricity, food, clothes and proper medical resources, people are still destitute. Tzu Chi USA stepped in, spreading relief to even the most remote parts of the island. Wielding financial relief cards, blankets and solar-powered light bulbs, Tzu Chi volunteers walk side by side with the people of Puerto Rico on their road to recovery.