Human Bridges

by Robin Cornick

When Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, with catastrophic flash floods and winds as high as 155 mph, it was regarded by many to be the worst natural disaster in the island’s history. But for Jane and Ramon Gomez of Short Hills, it was a much more personal crisis.

Ramon’s mother, sister, and niece all resided on the battered island. Knowing that their relatives likely had no electricity, cell phone service, water, or means of communicating, Jane and Ramon’s days became laser-focused on a single goal: getting their family to safety.

For five days after the storm, there was no word from Ramon’s family – and no word of their condition. Finally, after nearly a week, Ramon’s elderly mother, Astrid, was able to locate a working cell phone. Ramon learned that her senior housing facility’s staff was using a generator sporadically to make meals, and that his sister’s home had been destroyed. During the call, Jane told her mother-in-law that she thought it best for the family to leave the island and come to New Jersey; Astrid agreed.

Unfortunately, because nearly all of the island’s cell towers were down, Jane and Ramon were unable to contact the family again after that initial call. They also tried getting in touch with the island’s electric company and the Red Cross, but with no success. In the interim, they’d purchased plane tickets to fly the three women from Puerto Rico to the United States, but they had no way of letting them know.

In despair, Ramon created a post on Facebook that he hoped a friend or family member on the island would see. As it happened, his post was noticed by someone much closer to home – Jane’s longstanding Women’s Philanthropy friend, incoming president Jody Hurwitz Caplan, who lives just a few miles away in Short Hills.  

Jody informed Jane she would be in touch with Dov Ben-Shimon, the Executive Vice President/CEO of our Federation, and that he would call her shortly. By the end of that day, Dov called Jane, providing her with the opportunity to share the names and contact information for her family on the island. 

Dov explained that an Israeli hospital had already been set up to provide aid to the people of Puerto Rico and that, while calls from the United States weren’t getting through, the Israelis were able to make outbound calls.

After the many thwarted attempts to contact the family, Jane was ecstatic. “When I got the call from Dov, it was so comforting I almost cried.”

Through Federation’s network, a contact in Puerto Rico located and visited Ramon’s family, checked on their condition, and asked whether there was anything critical that they needed. Most importantly, the Federation representative relayed the information about the flights that had been arranged to bring them to New Jersey.

On October 8, three excruciating weeks later, Ramon’s mother, sister, and niece arrived in Short Hills.

For years, Jane has been highly involved in Federation in a myriad of ways. She is a graduate of the Arthur Borinsky Young Leadership Development Program, is a staff writer for this Women’s Philanthropy e-newsletter, and is a current member of the Women’s Philanthropy Board. However, she wasn’t fully aware of the invaluable, powerful resource that Federation could be for herself and her family. She was especially gratified to learn that, while Ramon’s family is not Jewish, Federation’s efforts to help often go beyond the Jewish community.

Like Jane, many in our community are unaware that Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ has contacts and resources that extend far beyond the state; we are part of a much larger and greater network, connecting people in need around the country and, in fact, the world.

Jane and Ramon are eternally grateful for the quick response, assistance, and support they received from Federation in their family’s time of need. As Jane says, although she and Jody have known each other for nearly two decades, “I just hadn’t thought to call her.”