MIAMI – A group of Muslim doctors left for Puerto Rico on Sunday, October 22, donating their skills and time to the Caribbean island where many people are still suffering after Hurricane Maria.
“The purpose of doing that is we want to make sure our brothers and sisters, and those who are at the site and waiting for us, we felt the responsibility to help them, those who are in dire need,” an Islamic Circle spokesperson told 7News on Sunday.
The team of medical professionals was deployed by the Islamic Circle of North America.
The doctors took off from Miami International Airport, Sunday.
The team will volunteer at understaffed health clinics and work with local doctors to treat patients who have been without proper medical care for weeks.
The humanitarian mission will last through Thursday.
On the eve of September 19, 2017, Maria, a Category 4 hurricane, made landfall in Puerto Rico.
Heavy storms and flooding devastated the small island of 3.4 million Americans.
Two weeks after the hurricane landed, many are still without electricity and basic supplies, access to clean water is limited, and functioning cell towers are at a low, making communication with outside family members impossible.
On October 1st, ICNA Relief Disaster Relief Team, consisting of Imam Yusuf Rios and Muslim Chaplain Wilfredo Ruiz of Islamic Center Of Puerto Rico Montehiedra, and Abdul Rauf Khan, Assistant Executive Director of ICNA Relief, headed to Puerto Rico to asses the situation. Bringing with them generators and MRE (meals ready to eat), they visited the local communities, the families, and Islamic centers that were affected.
Bringing with them generators and MRE (meals ready to eat), they visited the local communities, the families, and Islamic centers that were affected.