Hurricane Maria removed the delusions of prosperity and first-world status that blinded so many to the realities of Puerto Rico, including the fragility of its infrastructure, its high levels of social inequality and its status as a U.S. colony.
In the Puerto Rican town of Orocovis, 1,000 people lost their homes in Hurricanes Maria and Irma. There, graduate students from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico are providing social and psychological services to help residents who have lost everything start to rebuild their homes and their lives.
While diplomats and advocates weigh in on the crisis, Catholic Relief Services in Bangladesh, supporting the local Caritas office, is responding with humanitarian assistance, delivering food and critical survival supplies to thousands of Rohingya families.