Council member Cabrera partners Bronx Community College to provide relief to Honduras
A New York council member, Fernando Cabrera has partnered Bronx Community College to announce a new effort to provide relief to the Central American country.
The relief initiative, which was announced on Monday November 16, 2020, is in response to the hurricane and earthquake devastation in Honduras.
According to Cabrera, the Bronx Community College will serve as a drop off point for donations, which will be collected at the Hall of Fame Gate, located on Hall of Fame Terrace November 16, 17, 19, 23 and 24, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
“With yet another hurricane approaching, the dire need for help is even more critical. This hurricane season has been the most active ever recorded in the Atlantic,” Cabrera said.
“I’m grateful to Bronx Community College for its partnership in supporting this relief effort for the people of Honduras, and Crescencio Bulnes, President of Sociedad Hondurena Activa De New York, who started this outreach, and the Sergeants Benevolent Association for its generosity to this effort,” he added.
He explained that Hurricane Eta has left a trail of devastation that has destroyed people’s homes and left communities isolated.
He noted that it is heartbreaking to experience this during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are close to one million Hondurans in the United States, and New York City is home to the largest Garifuna population anywhere outside of Honduras.
“Our Honduran neighbors are many of the essential workers that kept New York and the Bronx going in the darkest days of COVID-19, taking risks that allowed others to continue going about their daily lives,” Cabrera said.
“Now is the time for us to stand together as a community and join forces to help our friends, neighbors and families in Honduras. I’m proud of the way our community has stepped up to provide much needed relief to Honduras,” Cabrera appealed.
Also calling on all New Yorkers to support the effort, Bronx Community College President Thomas A. Isekenegbe said, “The students who study at Bronx Community College and their families come from communities around the world.
“We are interconnected and part of a larger global community. When other nations experience natural disasters, we feel it here at BCC — and we respond.”
He added that “We contributed to earthquake relief in Puerto Rico earlier this year, and now we are doing the same for the victims of Hurricane Eta in Honduras. We call on all New Yorkers to join us.”
Provost Lester Sandres Rápalo said, “In a year when so many have endured so much, the people of Honduras now face the extra burden of recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Eta.
“As a proud son of Honduras, I know the resilience of its people. But that won’t be enough to get them through this tragedy. They need our help.”
Describing the personal impact of the flooding in Honduras, BCC Public Safety Officer Corporal Sixto Velasquez said, “I have relatives and friends in Honduras. My mother tells me how the people there are suffering.
“Whole towns have been swept away by the floods. There are many dead and not enough food and clothing for the survivors. When I heard about Bronx Community College’s hurricane relief I was so moved. I appreciate what BCC is doing.”
Greatest needs include bottled water, non-perishable food, including canned goods, rice and pasta, clothing, diapers feminine products, pain reliever such as Advil and Tylenol, and disinfectants.
Collected donations will be transported to Honduras on November 24.
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