ATR First: Puerto Rico NOC Providing Hope in Difficult Times

(ATR) Puerto Rico Olympic Committee President Sarah Rosario says the NOC is creating opportunities and spaces for communities to come together and lift spirits in wake of hurricanes that struck the Caribbean in September.

"We have a project with our athletes and sponsors where we are visiting special communities with refugees and creating a small space for recreation to help make people happy and restore faith," Rosario tells Around the Rings in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the ANOC General Assembly in Prague, Czech Republic.

"For me, this is a very important moment to demonstrate our solidarity for our people," she says. "Our athletes have the solidarity of the people of Puerto Rico in the best moments of their lives, and this is a small way in which they can give back.

"This is the most important and positive news, for my NOC and my athletes to give support to our people who don’t have anything right now."

Rosario tells ATR that Puerto Rico is still in severe need of recovery efforts and support, as only 20 percent of the country has electricity.

"It’s very difficult to see your country destroyed," she says. "It’s very important to support our athletes for their training that’s going on. Many of their facilities are damaged from the hurricane. Many of our facilities are now recovery centers with food, medicine and water for our communities."

And it’s not just Puerto Rico that is suffering. Hurricanes Irma and Maria left a trail of damage throughout the Caribbean including St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Haiti and many more.

Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees President Brian Lewis tells ATR that PanamSports is working with CANOC to determine the best path forward. A meeting was held last week in Miami with CANOC members to assess the damage done and discover the needs of each country.

"There’s still a lot of assessment going on," Lewis says. "Obviously we need to get some clarity as to what the next steps are but we are still working. Some of the colleagues that were affected were in Miami so that conversation is ongoing and I’m thinking that maybe CANOC, we need to go in and see for ourselves and have those conversations ourselves. We don’t want to be premature with it."

While monetary support has not yet arrived from the International Olympic Committee and PanamSports, Rosario says the NOC has received a lot of athlete support from regional NOCs. Despite this, Lewis adds that people in the affected islands aren’t helpless to the situation.

"These things are always devastating but at the end of the day there’s a tremendous resilience and indomitable will," Lewis tells ATR. "The residents of these islands that are affected are picking up the pieces and attempting to move forward. It’s not to say they are sitting and waiting on help from the IOC or PASO [PanamSports], there’s a whole broader mobilization taking place."

For Puerto Rico, PanamSports President Neven Ilic and Secretary General Ivar Sisniega as well as the IOC are waiting on a final proposal from Rosario that details the damage suffered from the hurricanes before Olympic Solidarity funds are sent to the U.S. commonwealth. Rosario tells ATR she should have a detailed damage proposal ready sometime next week after the ANOC General Assembly concludes.

"In San Juan, my Olympic House has several damages, especially with the windows and the roof," she says. "We have a small roof in the entrance of the building but we don’t have one now. We don’t have electricity in the office; I only have four small generators for making the most important jobs day by day."

"I can only work in the mornings, 9-2 pm. It’s very difficult to have full-time jobs for our employees because all of the people have to do things for their own houses and it’s very difficult, you need time," she says.

Once the proposal for damage funds is received, Rosario hopes relief will come swiftly for the NOC, her island and everyone affected in the region.

Reported and written by Kevin Nutley in Prague, Czech Republic.

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