At a press conference on Sunday morning ― 11 days after Hurricane Maria made landfall on the island ― Puerto Rico Gov.
Rossello went on to discuss the “disadvantage and inequality” that he said his island’s residents have faced for “more than a century” when compared to the U.S. mainland.
“Even after the storm hit Puerto Rico, even when it was evident that it was a disaster in the U.S., only half of our U.S. citizens in the mainland knew that Puerto Ricans were U.S. citizens,” he said.
A poll by Morning Consult found that only 54 percent of Americans were aware of the citizenship status of Puerto Ricans.
Relief efforts have been a point of contention in the days after the storm, with Trump having been criticized for repeatedly lauding relief work despite the dire conditions on the ground while also attacking Carmen Yulin Cruz ― mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico’s largest city ― who has publicly begged for more help.
We have done a great job with the almost impossible situation in Puerto Rico.
FEMA Director Brock Long, speaking on Fox News Sunday, also tried to distance himself from criticism and complaints, but acknowledged much work remains.

When Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, told reporters while begging the White House for help that “people are dying,” she wasn’t exaggerating.
Her city and much of the island is coming up on two weeks of suffering after Hurricane Irma, which not only knocked out power for the entire population but also left scores of people without clean drinking water, easy access to gasoline, readily available food and much-needed medical care. Although the death toll is officially 16 right now, that number will almost definitely go up.
“Sadly, the island is so badly damaged that there is no ability to communicate—no way to know the number of people who may have been killed in the storm itself with houses coming down, debris,” Stephen E. Flynn, the founding director of the Global Resilience Institute at Northeastern University, tells Newsweek.
The director of Puerto Rico’s emergency management agency told reporters during the storm that he predicted he’d “find our island destroyed.” Trees fell, buildings flooded and entire communities were effectively cut off from the outside world.
But the chaos didn’t end when the storm passed.
Hospitals have limited power from generators that rely on diesel—which is now in short supply. Doctors who are spread out in various communities have no backup power and, because of their size, aren’t likely to get any of the limited supplies coming in.
All of this leaves the sick and elderly at risk.
For Puerto Rico now, though, all he can hope for is immediate help.

“During our visits to the slums, we realised that the underprivileged masses of the city in the slum areas do not have access to safe drinking water, which actually results in them having various water-borne diseases. Clean drinking water is even more scarce. We wanted to change their dilapidated living standards and decided to distribute water filters in the slum areas. Therefore, the campaign ‘Elixir-Shudh Paani ki Shapat’ was born. This campaign is a pledge to provide pure drinking water to slum dwellers,” say Manya Karla and Sana Kharbana, students of Shri Ram School in Gurgaon, who started this campaign in 2016.
The funds obtained have been used to purchase non-electric water filters from Tata Chemicals. During their distribution drives, Tata also provided training to the dwellers on how to use and replace the bulb in water filters.
The structure of the city always reflects the disparity in the accessibility of basic resources.
As the quality of water also determines the quality of their lives, accessibility to safe drinking water will definitely help them have some parity with others in their lives.

OKLAHOMA CITY – An island slammed by Hurricane Maria left survivors behind in the ruins.
Charles Timms, an Air Force veteran, said he has family in Puerto Rico.
“Their call was really for water. People are drinking out of streams, creeks right now,” he said.
He then decided to take action.
“This is a LifeStraw and, with it, you can drink up to a thousand liters of water from almost any water source,” Timms said.
That’s 65,000 liters of water that can be transformed into drinking water.
“Went to sporting goods stores, Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shop and worked with them to get the price lower,” he said.
“It didn’t take us long to understand what the Oklahoma standard meant, so we’re basically trying to emulate that standard,” he said.

The wetlands in Mberengwa have turned villages into climate smart area.
Water points were either flooded or destroyed. According to the Department of Civil Protection rapid assessment, an estimated 100,000 people were left with no access to safe drinking water in the affected areas.
To ensure rebuilding of destroyed houses and infrastructure, Oxfam made available to over 280 affected families unconditional multi-purpose cash assistance to meet household and any other emerging needs.
As a result of water oozing again from the Mupandei Wetland, Oxfam and partners have reduced the exposure of farmers to short-term risks, while also strengthening the communitie’s resilience by building their capacity to adapt and prosper in the face of shocks and longer-term stresses.
This afternoon, Chicken Inn face city neighbours Highlanders, a team that only beat them once in league action, way back in 2011.
Bantu Rovers coach Methembe Ndlovu, the last man to hand Bosso a championship in 2006 even had the guts to field 15-year Sibusiso Moyo as a second half substitute.
In 13 league encounters between Chicken Inn and Highlanders, the Gamecocks have won six times, Highlanders have picked up maximum points just once with six of the encounters concluding in a stalemate.
Left back Honest Moyo and midfielder Rahman Kutsanzira are available for selection.

Almost a week and a half after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, about half of the island’s 3.4 million residents still lack access to clean drinking water, according to the U.S. Department of Defense, while 95 percent remain without power.
Trump then broadened his attack on the news media, accusing the networks of hindering recovery efforts.
“I know the people of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are suffering,” Duke told a news conference in San Juan.
I am proud of the work that’s being done.
“The president and I will not be satisfied, however, until every Puerto Rican is back home, the power is back on, clean water is freely available, schools and hospitals are fully open, and the Puerto Rican economy is working,” the secretary said.

Almost a week and a half after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, about half of the island’s 3.4 million residents still lack access to clean drinking water, according to the U.S. Department of Defense, while 95 percent remain without power.
Trump then broadened his attack on the news media, accusing the networks of hindering recovery efforts.
“I know the people of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are suffering,” Duke told a news conference in San Juan.
I am proud of the work that’s being done.
“The president and I will not be satisfied, however, until every Puerto Rican is back home, the power is back on, clean water is freely available, schools and hospitals are fully open, and the Puerto Rican economy is working,” the secretary said.

When Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, told reporters while begging the White House for help that "people are dying," she wasn’t exaggerating.
Her city and much of the island is coming up on two weeks of suffering after Hurricane Irma, which not only knocked out power for the entire population but also left scores of people without clean drinking water, easy access to gasoline, readily available food and much-needed medical care. Although the death toll is officially 16 right now, that number will almost definitely go up.
"Sadly, the island is so badly damaged that there is no ability to communicate—no way to know the number of people who may have been killed in the storm itself with houses coming down, debris," Stephen E. Flynn, the founding director of the Global Resilience Institute at Northeastern University, tells Newsweek.
The director of Puerto Rico’s emergency management agency told reporters during the storm that he predicted he’d "find our island destroyed." Trees fell, buildings flooded and entire communities were effectively cut off from the outside world.
But the chaos didn’t end when the storm passed.
Hospitals have limited power from generators that rely on diesel—which is now in short supply. Doctors who are spread out in various communities have no backup power and, because of their size, aren’t likely to get any of the limited supplies coming in.
For Puerto Rico now, though, all he can hope for is immediate help.

The funding builds on DP World’s ongoing work in Somaliland where it has a 30-year concession to develop a multi-purpose project at the Port of Berbera. It also forms part of DP World’s "Our World, Our Future" global sustainability programme.
As part of the project, DP World will drill four water wells in Berbera and three outside the Sahil region to address recent water shortages and meet the increasing demand for water following the growth of Berbera’s infrastructure and the development of the port. The Sahil region has been affected by a devastating drought for two years and only one in three people in Somaliland currently have access to safe drinking water, according to the UN.
Part of the donation will also help finance improvements to Berbera hospitals to ensure access to better medical facilities and reduce the need for local residents to travel outside of the town when they require assistance.
This support for Berbera is part of our commitment to help develop the areas in which we operate and we are confident that our donation will have important benefits for many people across the region.
Since taking over the Port of Berbera, DP World has backed a range of initiatives on water scarcity, education and healthcare in the Sahil region. Ongoing efforts include donating 4.5m litres of water to the drought committee in Berbera, sponsorship of 11 schools and a maritime education academy, as well as two hospitals and a clinic. To help tackle food insecurity and famine in the area, the company has also supplied 3,000 families with food provisions.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) – A week after Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, most of its 3.4 million residents are scrambling to find clean water, with experts concerned about a looming public health crisis posed by the island’s damaged water system.
But the island does not have nearly enough generators to perform this work, utility officials say, while fuel to run them is scarce.
At the water line in Canovanas, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of the capital San Juan, people dunked bottles into larger containers still filling with water to make the most of their turn at the tanker.
A woman drinks from a bottle after filling it with water from a tank truck at an area hit by Hurricane Maria in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, September 26, 2017.
Even before the hurricane, Puerto Rico had a troubled water system.
The situation has only become worse with Maria, which has crippled sewage treatment plants and made the island’s already leaky pipes even more prone to contamination.
Last year, it entered into an agreement to plead guilty to an indictment charging 15 felony counts of violating the federal Clean Water Act through the illegal discharge of pollutants from nine sanitary wastewater treatment plants and five drinking water treatment plants, U.S. authorities said in December.
Negroni, 72, said he figures they will not have water service or electricity restored for weeks.
“I can make coffee,” Negroni said.