A Commitment to Education

Education is a promise. It is what we give to the next generation. It rebuilds. It provides hope. NACOPRW is proud to have established a collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico. Dra. Ana Jimenez, our First VP who will soon be traveling to the island, has worked to make this partnership happen. Below is an excerpt of the letter from Dr. Milagros Mendez, Interim Director of the Department of Psychology of the University of Puerto Rico.

More than a month after hurricane Maria hit the island, we are still very much in the same situation. That is, only between 7-15% of island residents have power and more than half of the island is without running water. The vast majority of businesses, as well as public schools and universities are still closed due to the lack of power, including our campus. Unfortunately, the closing of the main campus has had many negative consequences on our students, including financial as well as emotional.

Some of our graduate students have approached us to tell us of their particular hardships. These include lack of housing, loss of income (particularly those who have lost their part-time jobs, or those whose only income was their research assistant stipend), and difficulties fulfilling their basic needs (i.e., water, food, clothing, medical supplies, toiletries). We suspect that those in the worse circumstances are those that come from the central parts of the island. We are conducting a systematic needs assessment of our students to identify their specific needs, and will provide such information when ready. Due to financial hardships many of our doctoral students have expressed their inability to continue their doctoral studies. It is with much sadness and preoccupation that we reach out for your support to ameliorate the financial burden of our students. Your donation or sponsorship will help ensure that doctoral students will be able to continue in the Program and complete their degree.

We believe education is the key for a successful re-construction of our island. Innovation, knowledge and creativity can mainly be fostered through education.