Former US President Bill Clinton announced several projects for people of Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands who are struggling to rebuild their lives. They are trying to come to terms with the devastation unleashed in the region by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria in 2017. Bill Clinton is in the US territory and his foundation has organized a two-day event.

Daily Mail UK reports that the hurricanes struck more than a year ago and the damages run into billions of dollars in Puerto Rico and neighboring regions. In the opinion of some experts, the damage caused by Hurricane Irma and Maria could be over $280billion.

The disasters disturbed the lives of the people and destroyed properties and infrastructure with more than 3,300 estimated deaths. Speaking on the occasion, Bill Clinton said, “Our work is far from over. The work is not for those with short attention spans.”

The Foundation focuses on essentials

His wife Hillary Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea, who is the foundation’s vice president, accompanied Bill Clinton. They met with Gov. Ricardo Rossello and toured the island to get a firsthand feel of the prevailing situation.

Hundreds of nonprofit groups and organizations also attended the conference of the Clinton Global Initiative in Puerto Rico. Its aim is to raise awareness and funds to undertake assistance on a global scale.

Daily Mail UK goes on to add those who attended made pledges to provide basic necessities like clean water and solar electricity.

Some places continue to use generators more than a year after Hurricane Maria. The disaster uprooted trees and electric poles and shattered the infrastructure forcing Puerto Ricans to endure blackouts for a long time. The loss of trees led to a loss of endangered parrots.

The worst sufferers of non-availability of electricity were the education sector and medical services, hence there is a need to embrace Renewable Energy.

Soon after the hurricane, Elon Musk intervened with his solar operated systems. Pledges made last year included issues like rebuilding schools and this time there are many more commitments.

Hillary Clinton also was in Puerto Rico

According to NBC News, Hillary Clinton is currently in Puerto Rico with her husband, former President Bill Clinton. She is the former Democratic presidential nominee and may even run again in 2020. She went with Bill to support the recovery efforts of the Clinton foundation in order to mitigate the sufferings of Puerto Ricans whose lives went haywire when Hurricane Maria devastated the region in 2017.
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