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 Spurred on by an involuntary impulse, actor Osvaldo Rios rushed into the streets to provide aid to the victims of Hurricane Georges. Nothing could have given him greater satisfaction that to be allowed to repay everyone and to feel and bestow human warmth.
“This is a crisis. There is a need to take action here and now. There is a danger that people’s patience will be worn thin and that this will eventually cause them to snap,” asserts Osvaldo Rios.
At an evacuation center in Vista Alegre in Aguas Buenas, a woman approached the actor and indicated that she wanted a doll. He made arrangements to give her a doll despite thinking that this request was strange but was unable to see any girls in the vicinity. That woman was pregnant, and she touched her belly to indicate that she was carrying a child.
Osvaldo Rios was moved by this experience and not only gave the woman a doll but his telephone number as well and promised her that he would go and visit her when her child was born. “I want that child to know that the first person to ever give her a doll was me.” In this way, he related his memories of his experiences from that time.
Over fifteen towns received assistance from a group organized by the efforts of a large number of artists. Some of the names of these towns are as follows: Canovanas, Guaynabo, Jayuya, Utuado, Ciales, Adjuntas, Florida, Barceloneta, Anasco, and Juana Diaz.
Melwin Cedeno, Arnneris Morales, known for his role as “Chevy”, Miguelangel Suarez, Maria Alejandra, Choco Orta, Alessander, Yaire, and Oscar of Grupomania, were among the members of the group that paid a visit last Friday to Aguas Buenas, the hometown of beauty queen Joyce Marie Giraud.
The former Miss Universe, who won as a representative of Puerto Rico in 1988, issued a few words of thanks to everyone who appeared in her town with food and daily necessities in order to spend some enjoyable time with the victims.
“You performed wonderfully. Everyone who was asked to help out was able to cooperate. The assistance provided was huge. I did not imagine that it would be quite as large an effort as it was.”
By the time the activities had ended and everyone had returned to their homes, the water and electrical lines were restored. This dedicated young woman is planning to continue providing assistance to people and accepting aid that can be sent to places where it is needed.
 At the first evacuation center I visited several days after the hurricane
struck, what affected me most was the sight of many utterly confused children.
You can imagine what the anxious faces of their parents must have looked
like,” responded Joyce Giraud.
Osvaldo Rios indicated that he would deliver 200 to 300 bags filled with daily essentials prepared by hand by a group of friends to all the places he was planning to visit.
These bags were also stuffed with toy cars for boy babies, accessory-making kits or dolls for girls, and crayons and coloring books for everyone.
Adults also received bags containing daily essentials.
“People with children understand that it is necessary that their children be given recreational options. They can’t wait, they need assistance, and their needs must be met now. Of course, food and water are also important but children are still children even in the midst of misfortune,” explained Osvaldo Rios to Primera Hora.
 For this actor, to give is naturally important but it is especially important to distribute supplies in person to make sure that they are in fact delivered to the people that need them and see the smiles on the faces of delighted recipients.
“I was able to converse with them, to listen to the emotions they harbored, and organize aid groups. These are not experiences that you can ever forget. Kisses, hugs, human warmth?these are the most important things in life,” this artist, who began this project two weeks earlier, related with conviction.
“When I arrived on site, lack of privacy was one of the things that struck me most. This is the state in which these victims are living. It was immediately obvious that they lacked goods and that their lives were in direct contrast to the state of our lives in the metropolitan area that we had helped to build,” indicated Rios, who is also a singer.
He also planned to visit an evacuation center holding approximately 500 disaster victims in San Isidro in Canovanas this Monday afternoon.
This group, which depends on support by such companies as Unilever and Pont Flores as well as the Department of the Family, will gather at the Carlos Miguel Mangual stadium in Canovanas before heading out for the makeshift evacuation center.
Among the donated goods in their possession are daily necessities, toys, and men’s and women’s undergarments, whose total retail value equals three hundred thousand dollars.
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