Homes in Toa Baja retrofitted with renewable energy, cisterns
In Villas del Sol, access to energy and water is limited due to inefficient infrastructure.
Prudential Financial Inc., in partnership with the Puerto Rico Community Foundation (FCPR), has made a $100,000 philanthropic investment to benefit five families in the Villas del Sol and Villa Calma II communities in Toa Baja. The funds enabled the installation of solar energy systems and cisterns, improving access to electricity and water for these households.
The contribution, which was redirected to One Stop Career Center with the support of the Asociación de Comunidades Unidas Tomando Acción Solidaria Inc. (Acutas), facilitated the installation of the equipment.
In Villas del Sol, access to energy and water is limited, and infrastructure is often inefficient or reliant on improvised systems, officials noted.
“I never thought of installing that solar energy system because I don’t have the strength. I stopped working. Now I always have power. We thank God and you,” said Daniel Ceballos, 69, and a resident of Villas del Sol, during a visit by René Deida, vice president of Corporate Giving at Prudential Financial, Inc., along with the senior vice president of the FCPR, Mary Ann Gabino.
Elderly residents, some with disabilities, received the solar power systems and cisterns.
“It’s impressive to see in person the result of the funds we can recommend. When I visit one of the impacted communities and see the progress of the philanthropic investment, I realize how privileged we are to have this type of work. And what excites me the most is the hope of the people,” said Deida.
The installations included solar energy systems for three families in Villas del Sol, a cistern for one family in Villa Calma II, and both a solar system and cistern for another Villa Calma II household.
“Villas del Sol is a community that has suffered greatly from government exclusion and from access to essential systems, which on multiple local and global platforms are considered human rights. It is a fighting community that has risen and taken on an entrepreneurial spirit by building its houses, opening access through unpaved roads and creating alternative systems to receive power and water. The community presents itself as one with great potential for formalization. We must invest our focus, our talents and our philanthropic investments so that they can achieve this,” Gabino said.
One Stop Career Center is working on a federal proposal to improve infrastructure in Villas del Sol, while encouraging support from philanthropic, business and government sectors to improve residents’ quality of life, foundation officials said.
“One Stop and its team have dedicated many years to the Villas del Sol community in Toa Baja, since 2001, with the [Unified Service Center Visits Your Special Community (Cegucom, in Spanish)] project of the Department of Labor. Each visit renews our hope and vision of a future for a better quality of life for this community,” said Carmen Cosme, executive director of One Stop.
The people who live in the Villas del Sol community are part of the Villas del Sol Self-Construction and Mutual Aid Housing Cooperative, located in Toa Baja’s Ingenio neighborhood, where there are about 176 plots.
“Puerto Rico does not have a reliable energy system, which puts the lives of the most vulnerable at risk. In the case of Villas del Sol, it is even worse given that it … lacks government infrastructure — electricity, water, roads, drainage and sewage,” said Waldemiro Vélez -Soto, executive director of Acutas.
He added that the lack of access to water or electricity for residents of Villas del Sol is “a clear violation of Act 209-2024, which specifically protects consumers’ rights against discrimination when requesting essential services such as drinking water and electricity, as the law clearly states. This project helps us do justice to some families.”
One Stop has been working in Toa Baja since 2022, particularly in the communities of San José, Villa Calma I, Villa Calma II, Villas del Sol and Ingenio, in collaboration with Acutas and its community leaders. Together, they have developed Community Resilience Plans, which are funded by the Whole Community Resilience Planning Program, an initiative under the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery program, financed by the Puerto Rico Department of Housing with allocations from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
“We hope that this momentum will allow them to continue generating changes that make them more resilient and close the inequality gap,” said FCPR CEO Nelson I. Colón-Tarrats.
