Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island and part of the United States, located in North America. It has struggled with poverty long before the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 43% of Puerto Rico’s population live in poverty, the majority of them children. The island has also endured multiple disasters, the most recent being the destructive Hurricane Maria and COVID-19. These hardships have weakened Puerto Rico’s economy, infrastructure, and health systems and have left vulnerable groups even more susceptible to poverty. The country’s vulnerability to severe hurricanes has perpetuated poverty in Puerto Rico.

Our colleagues from Islamic Relief USA have been working in Puerto Rico, rebuilding homes, supporting a clinic by building a water infrastructure to provide clean water, distributing food and clean water, and also handing out school kits to children before the school year.

Volunteers will be participating in IR development projects in three main areas: Education, Food, and Water. This includes school renovation; packing and distributing school kits; packing and distributing food, and helping in fundraising for two wells to provide local communities with clean water.

Volunteers will also:

• Visit local Islamic Relief projects in the area, and interact with beneficiaries to hear their stories.
• Take part in organized sightseeing activities including visiting the Masjids across the island as well as the Islamic architectural and historical sites of Old San Juan.
• Participate in a myriad of adventurous and sports activities such as Cave Tubing, night Kayaking, Hiking, etc.

All finalized applicants are required to raise a minimum of CAD 3,500 by July 1st, 2022. All the funds raised will be going towards Islamic Relief projects in Puerto Rico.  IRC will provide each volunteer with a fundraising session that includes tips on how to fundraise, how to engage your network, etc. Also, IRC will set up an online LaunchGood fundraising page for each volunteer to raise funds for their project.  

The Inspire program aims to give volunteers a unique and eye-opening experience, where they are able to immerse themselves in a completely different context than they are normally accustomed to. This program encompasses the “give and take” principle; it is an opportunity to both give back to vulnerable communities overseas whilst learning and growing skills in an enriching environment. After completing the program, letters of reference will be given out to participants upon request. Participants will also be encouraged to continue volunteering with IRC following the trip to continue their humanitarian efforts. 

IRC will cover your stay in Puerto Rico, including your accommodation, transportation, food, and scheduled sightseeing activities. Please note that flights are NOT included in this, thus the volunteer is responsible for purchasing their flights to and from Puerto Rico, as well as mandatory health insurance.

Once accepted into the program, all the volunteers are required to attend pre-departure training sessions that are held for 2-3 hours Bi-weekly. These sessions will focus on the details required for the Field Study including fundraising, country profile, IR history, security in the field, activity planning, etc. These are mandatory!