Puerto Ricans in Butler County working on hurricane relief
Estefany De Jesús Besares, 25, and Alejandro Ramos, 22, and their four children came to Butler from Puerto Rico in August for their son's medical treatment. They had no idea that Hurricane Maria would arrive in Puerto Rico in September with disastrous results.
Understandably, they are worried about family members still living in Puerto Rico.
Humacao, on the eastern side of Puerto Rico, where Ramos' great-grandmother and mother-in-law live, was hit hard by the hurricane. Many of his great-grandmother's belongings were destroyed. She is staying now with a daughter in another town.
“It worries me. My great-grandmother has heart trouble,” Ramos said.
Her local hospital is running on a generator. Some hospitals in Puerto Rico are closed entirely.
One of Ramos' friends is trying to send flashlights and batteries to his own family, “so they can survive.”
Gheisha Cordero, 21, started training at the Butler Beauty Academy, 233 S. Main St., in September after moving to Butler from Camden, N.J., two years ago. Her mother and 12-year-old brother live here with her but her mother's family lives in Moca, her hometown in the northwestern region of Puerto Rico.
Students and staff at her school wanted to help those in need after Hurricane Maria. Butler Beauty Academy, as well as its affiliated schools in Kittanning and New Castle, will have a cut-a-thon from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 18.
For a $10 donation, patrons can have a haircut and styling. There also will be a basket auction.
The school will accept bottled water and canned goods that will be sent to Puerto Rico by a local agency. All proceeds from the cut-a-thon will benefit people in Puerto Rico.
A full report will appear in the Butler Eagle.
