“It’s time to go outside, to organize . . .”

Latest

Lourdes E. Hernández-Rivera in her community, helping Puerto Ricans heal after Hurricane Maria.

 
PUERTO RICO — I live my Life promoting social justice through healing. Every week, for almost three years, I have offered auriculotherapy clinics for communities in Puerto Rico. Health and Acupuncture for the People (SAPP initials in Spanish) is the name of the initiative in which I participate, since its inception. I am dedicated to providing everyone who arrives, without cost, detoxification protocols to overcome traumas and addictions.
So far, the SAPP project, which aims to rescue the legacy of the Young Lords and Black Panthers, has offered more than 300 clinics, attended more than 2,500 people and trained almost a hundred therapists between Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Haiti. Currently SAPP has five fixed clinics. “Establishing spaces of healing and wellbeing in the communities, I assure that my people have access to this therapy that is so beneficial in so many aspects, and cost effective.
I want a healthy Caribbean, that loves Life and where everyone works in something that brings them happiness. This kind of movement can help a lot, and this is my way of contributing to change.
After hurricane Maria, I, in addition to offering sessions of auricular therapy, am dedicated to assisting in the process of the organization of a group of women who rescued an abandoned school and started there a Mutual Support Center, a space which offers for the community food, water, auriculotherapy sessions, workshops and sowing activities—such is the agenda. The neighborhood is called Las Carolinas, in the town of Caguas, and by the time you read these lines, all of its inhabitants remain without power since September 20, 2017.
It’s time to go outside, to organize ourselves and turn this deep crisis into the engine of decolonization. Without a doubt, we have already begun to take concrete steps towards liberation.

+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

Cities from Chicago to Newark Resist Trump’s Immigration Crackdown

Immigration activists in Chicago and Newark, NJ, describe how the government's assault on immigrants violates the Constitution and threatens everyone's rights.

Pledge to Keep Organizing, Pledge to Keep Marching: People’s March 2025

Dozens of organizations came together here and worldwide to create the People’s March 2025. Hundreds of thousands of people came to protest the policy promises of President Donald Trump and to convey a loud message of resistance to his promised policies and ultimate dictatorship. 

Doctor Sees People Deferring Life-Saving Care, Fearing Deportation and Family Separation

Emergency Room doctor asks how many people will defer life saving care because of their immigration status, fearing deportations and family separation.

Chicagoans Vow to Fight Trump’s Attack on Immigrant Workers

Chicagoans are showing that they plan to resist President Trump’s plans to mount attacks on immigrants.

A Mass Movement Will Rise to Defend Immigrants, Says Activist

Right now there is no coordinated national mass movement to defend immigrants, but there will be, says human rights activist Camilo Pérez-Bustillo in this interview with the People's Tribune.

More from the People's Tribune