(Standing, left to right: Jason Hoac, Ron Snyder, and Matt Altman, from Cisco; Rami Shakra, Jose Arsenio Gonzalez and Eduardo Quiñones, from Cisco. Sitting, left to right: Ingolfur Haradlsson, Amanda Gonzalez, Ruth Graulau, Emma Gonzalez, Vanessa Molina, Gabriel and Cecilia Quiñones-Molina.)By Rami Shakra, Director of Field Connectivity During the initial weeks of NetHope’s Puerto Rico response, … Continued
By Kristin KalningNashaly Alvarado, 22, has lived in Juana Diaz, on the southern coast of Puerto Rico, all her life. Before Hurricane Maria, she was unemployed and volunteering at a music camp. A meteorology enthusiast, Nashaly was also watching the storm closely as it came out of Africa and moved with increasing ferocity toward her … Continued
By Kristin KalningWhen NetHope began its mission to reconnect Wi-Fi and cell service in Puerto Rico in the days after Hurricane Maria, there were more than a few logistical challenges.Basics – such as food, water, and shelter – were in short supply. Without power, team members sometimes used headlamps and paper maps to sketch out … Continued
By Theresa Ritzer and Sybille FleischmannEvery Monday and Wednesday afternoon, the Serlo Lab School in Munich opens its doors to students from the neighborhood. There, experienced educators and teachers-in-training offer free math tutoring to high school students who need extra practice. Among these students are young refugees, who use the opportunity to catch up on … Continued
By Kristin KalningSAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. Casey Harrity, Hurricane Response Team Leader for Save the Children, deployed from Washington D.C. to the island on September 24.“In the first days after the storm, the entire island was without power or cell coverage; lines for … Continued
By Kate HurowitzEditor’s note: Kate Hurowitz, an internal communications manager at Google, was a volunteer member of the NetHope team deployed to Puerto Rico and its official mission storyteller.Jose Nazario is a first-time NetHope volunteer from Google, who went to Puerto Rico in October for a two-week deployment. I sat down with him to get … Continued
By Kate Hurowitz Editor’s note: Kate Hurowitz, an internal communications manager at Google, was a member of the NetHope team deployed to Puerto Rico and its official mission storyteller.El Banco de Alimentos de Puerto Rico (The Puerto Rico Food Bank) sits in a nondescript warehouse near a busy intersection in Bayamon, just outside of San Juan. … Continued
By Lauren Woodman, CEOAs I help pack up the car and load my family up for the long Thanksgiving weekend, I am more reflective than usual about the themes this holiday evokes. What am I grateful for? And why am I hopeful about the future, even though our world seems more volatile and challenging than … Continued
By Kate HurowitzEditor’s note: Kate Hurowitz, an internal communications manager at Google, was a member of the NetHope team deployed to Puerto Rico and the team’s official storyteller. The headline of a yellowed news clipping hanging on the wall of the Emergency Operations Center in Canóvanas reads “Rescues in Canóvanas.” The accompanying picture shows Mayor … Continued
By Kate HurowitzEditor’s note: Kate Hurowitz, an internal communications manager at Google, was a member of the NetHope team deployed to Puerto Rico and its official mission storyteller. On the night Maria hit, Emanuel Osoria and his wife slept in the living room of their 18th floor apartment. At about 2 a.m. they woke up … Continued