San Juan, PR – March 9-15, 2025

The primary focus of this week’s team was the Mr Raul house.  Mr. Raul’s previous house was totally destroyed by hurricane Maria.  TECHOS discovered his need and MDS partnered with them.  He was able to erect some preliminary block walls but they were not even close to being able to withstand another storm like Maria.

This week’s team added extensive rebar to the cavities of the block walls and across the top of the walls.  Once this was complete, wooden forms were affixed to the tops of the walls into which concrete could be poured to make a very strong and secure base for the roof.  While the concrete was setting, the creation of trusses began.

In order to ensure that none of our volunteers get too bored, we decided to build a wall partitioning the TECHOS main office building into a work area (for TECHOS workers) and a dining/activity area for the volunteers.

As with the previous week, some of the weekly volunteers came to Puerto Rico a few days ahead to be tourists for a spell.  They quickly discovered how quickly their pale skin could take on the hue of a cooked lobster.  Nonetheless, this did not stop them from delivering a week of excellent productivity.

The leaders enjoyed two trips to the El Yunque Rainforest.  On the first trip we hiked the steep walkway to the second tower and return.  A lunch followed in the Rainforest Café.  On the second trip, viewed the extensive exhibits at the Park Center and then enjoyed walking the extensive trails around the center to view the beautiful variety of plant life and artwork.  When we finished at El Yunque, we tried to visit a historical lighthouse but that venue was closed.  We drove around the windy and hilly roards for some time and had lunch at a café overlooking the ocean.