Story by: Kate Walters, Cindy Huge and Andrea Carlson, American Red Cross
“When the guys
from the National Guard came in a boat to rescue us, the first thing I wanted to
know was the location of the nearest Red Cross shelter,” said Jose Perez.
Rosaura
Rosaria, Jose’s wife, laughs nervously when she says hurricanes seem to follow them.
|
Kate, a Red Cross volunteer, helps translate
for the Perez family. |
They were
in Puerto Rico when Hurricane Maria devastated the village where Rosaria grew
up. Their children were only one and seven then. When their home was destroyed,
Rosaria and Perez took the girls to stay with her mother in a small village in
the Rio Yunque National Forest. The Red Cross was there providing meals for the
people of the small village after power to the island was cut off.
After
surviving Hurricane Maria, Rosaria and her husband had been working hard to provide
a stable life for their family after the destruction. Disappointed with the
pace of recovery and reconstruction on the Caribbean island, they joined the almost
200,000 other Puerto Ricans who have chosen to immigrate stateside, making the
big move away from their extended families and coming to South Carolina in
search of a more comfortable environment.
The family
arrived on August 15, 2018 just in time for Rose to settle in as a 3rd
grader at Daisy Elementary School in Horry County. An educator herself, Rosaria
proudly carried a copy of her college transcripts and teaching certificate and
checked in with the local school district in search of a teaching position utilizing
her strong Spanish skills. Perez secured work on a landscaping team. The family’s “new normal” was beginning to
take shape when Hurricane Florence made landfall Friday, September 14th,
shaking up their lives once again.
The family
evacuated inland and spent six nights in a hotel as the hurricane blew through.
That stay depleted their resources. The family had no choice but to return
home, knowing that the rising river levels would undoubtedly crest and flood
their home.
|
The Perez family smiles outside of a shelter
alongside Red Cross volunteers. |
In the
middle of the night, that fear became reality.
The family
couldn’t escape. They desperately awaited the National Guard, which arrived by
boat and carried the family to safety. Eight days after Florence made landfall,
the family once again found shelter with the Red Cross.
In the
darkness, Perez remembered that Red Cross volunteers had set up shelters and
distributed food and other supplies in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. He
asked the men in the boat if there was a Red Cross shelter nearby where he
could take his family. The National Guard immediately transported them to the
Red Cross shelter at Loris Elementary School in Loris where Rosaria and Jose,
their two daughters and a cousin were welcomed by volunteers.
“We were
worried about staying in a shelter with the girls. It turns out that they
really love it here. People bring them gifts and play with them all day. Things
are actually stable here. They like the schedule,” said Rosaria.
Juliette,
the youngest daughter is full of life. Her infectious smile is irresistible.
Her bounding energy lights up the shelter and its residents.
She was
forced to part with her favorite stuffed animal, Paca the horse, when they fled
their home. At the shelter, she was given a new “Paca the horse” and has been
content ever since. Paca has become the shelter mascot.
|
Juliette smiles with the new Paca, the horse. |
“Since
they arrived, this family has brought joy and vitality into our place of
refuge. They’ve done much more for us than we could ever do for them,” Cindy
Owsley, a Red Cross volunteer beamed.
Despite
this young family having to rebuild now twice from natural disasters, they
continue to make the best of each situation they are dealt. Knowing they have
the Red Cross to lean on and get support from, helps make these situations a
little easier.