Toa Baja | Monday, November 11, 2024<\/strong> | Five families from the communities Villas del Sol <\/strong>y Villa Calma II<\/strong>, in Toa Baja, they were able to improve their quality of life thanks to a philanthropic investment made by Prudential<\/em><\/strong> Financial, Inc.<\/strong><\/em>, through the Puerto Rico Community Foundation <\/strong>(FCPR). The contribution was redirected to One Stop Career Center<\/em><\/strong>,<\/em> with the collaboration of the Asociaci\u00f3n de Comunidades Unidas Tomando Acci\u00f3n Solidaria, Inc.<\/strong> (ACUTAS), allowed the installation of photovoltaic systems with storage and\/or cisterns in the five houses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the case of Villas del Sol, access to energy and water is limited, with an inefficient infrastructure, which in many cases responds to alternative systems that have been created to access both services. \u201cI never thought of putting in that solar energy system because I don't have the strength. I stopped working. Now I always have light. We thank God and you,\u201d he said. Daniel Ceballos<\/strong>, 69 year-old resident of Villas del Sol, during a visit from Ren\u00e9 Deida, vice president of Corporate Giving <\/em><\/strong>at Prudential Financial, Inc.<\/em><\/strong>, together with the vicepresidenta senior <\/strong>of the FCPR, Mary Ann Gabino<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is impressive to see firsthand the results of the funds we are able to recommend. Visiting one of the impacted communities and seeing the progress of the philanthropic investment, I realize how privileged we are to have this kind of work. And what excites me most is the hope of the people,\u201d said Deida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The five homes belong to elderly residents, some with disabilities, for whom water and electricity are vital for the preservation of their health and their lives. The photovoltaic systems with storage and cisterns were installed in the homes of three families from Villas del Sol; a family from Villa Calma II received a cistern and another family from Villa Calma II received the solar system with storage.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVillas del Sol is a community that has suffered greatly from government exclusion and access to basic systems, which on multiple local and global platforms are considered human rights. It is a struggling community that has risen up and assumed an entrepreneurial spirit by building their houses, opening access through unpaved roads and creating alternative systems to receive electricity and water, systems of the early twentieth century in the twenty-first century. The community presents itself as a great opportunity for formalization. We must put our eyes, our talents and our philanthropic investments to make it happen,\u201d said Gabino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently, One Stop Creer Center <\/em>is working with a federal proposal focused on the infrastructure of the Villas del Sol community. On the other hand, the philanthropic, business and governmental sectors are welcome to support this community so they can have a better quality of life and a dignified place to live. \u201cOne Stop and its work team have dedicated many years to the Villas del Sol community in Toa Baja, since 2001, with the CEGUCOM project of the Department of Labor. With each visit, the hope and vision of a future where the families of this community can enjoy a better quality of life is renewed,\u201d he said. Carmen Cosme,<\/strong> executive director of One Stop.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The people who live in the Villas del Sol community are part of the Cooperativa de Vivienda Autoconstrucci\u00f3n y Ayuda Mutua Villas del Sol (Self-construction and Mutual Aid Housing Cooperative Villas del Sol)<\/strong>, located in the Ingenio neighborhood in Toa Baja, where there are 176 plots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPuerto Rico does not have a reliable energy system, which puts the lives of the most vulnerable at risk. In the case of Villas del Sol it is even worse since it is a community that lacks government infrastructure - electricity, water, road, drainage and sewage,\u201d said Waldemiro V\u00e9lez Soto, Executive Director of ACUTAS.<\/strong> He added that the lack of access that Villas del Sol residents have to water or energy, for example, is \u201ca clear violation of Law 209-2024, which is supposed to protect the specific right of consumers not to be discriminated against when requesting essential services such as drinking water and electric energy, as the law clearly states. This project helps us to do justice to some families\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One Stop<\/em> has been working in Toa Baja since 2022, especially in the communities of San Jos\u00e9, Villa Calma I, Villa Calma II, Villas del Sol and Ingenio, together with ACUTAS and its community leaders, with whom it has worked in the following areas Community Resilience Plans<\/em>, which are subsidized with the funds of the Whole Community Resilience Planning Program - CDBG-DR.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe aspire that this momentum will allow them to continue to generate changes that will make them more resilient and bridge the inequality gap,\u201d said the president and chief executive officer of the FCPR, Dr. Nelson I. Col\u00f3n Tarrats.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo: In the photo, Daniel Ceballos, 69, a resident of Villas del Sol, with Ren\u00e9 Deida, vice president of Corporate Giving at Prudential Financial, Inc. (FCPR).<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Inversi\u00f3n filantr\u00f3pica facilita acceso a energ\u00eda solar y\/o cisternas Toa Baja | Lunes, 11 de noviembre de 2024 | Cinco familias de las comunidades Villas del Sol y Villa Calma II, en Toa Baja, lograron mejorar su calidad de vida gracias a una inversi\u00f3n filantr\u00f3pica que hiciera Prudential Financial, Inc., a trav\u00e9s de la Fundaci\u00f3n […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":17012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[406,32],"tags":[106,706,715,159,95,117,157,811],"class_list":["post-17011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comunicado","category-comunicados","tag-agua","tag-ceri","tag-comunicado","tag-comunidades-solares","tag-energia","tag-energia-renovable","tag-resiliencia","tag-toa-baja"],"yoast_head":"\n