TAMPA, Fla. — Somos Puerto Rico Tampa was founded to help those affected by Hurricane Maria. Now, it's purpose has grown tremendously.
"I am home, but my heart is in Puerto Rico," Jeannie Calderin said.
Calderin is the organization's founder. She may be back in Tampa now, but as she gets off the plane from Puerto Rico, her mind is still racing.
"They still need a lot of help and it's interesting because I thought that everything was getting back to normal and the need wasn't as big," Calderin said.
This is her second trip since earthquakes devastated the southern areas nearly a month ago. She and other volunteers are bringing supplies and money to help.
"My first trip to Puerto Rico I went to Guanica and I found out there were 94 seniors that were about to graduate. If they didn't start class soon, they were not going to get their high school diploma. A lot of them were already accepted to universities," Calderin said.
Guanica is ground zero. Escuela Aurea E. Quiles Claudio was closed soon after earthquakes devastated the Island. It has cracks down the walls and is missing steps.
"I think in my opinion, if there's a couple of shakes that are larger again, it's going to go down. So, they couldn't go inside and get the tables and chairs and stuff like that," Calderin said.
She's worked to raise money to build a temporary school in a baseball park nearby. At an event to unveil the new school, Calderin let the kids know everything would be okay.
"We had to start from scratch, from tents. It's like wedding tents and then there's tables chairs. We all call it the community school because the government didn't do anything, the department of education didn't do anything, it was us. The nonprofits and the community came together to make this happen so the children can graduate." Calderin said.
The high schoolers start at the temporary school on Tuesday. They'll have classes from 7:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. due to how hot it is. Calderin said they're scheduled to graduate in June. She plans on being there to celebrate.
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