For a long time, the residents of the Cagüitas neighborhood of Aguas Buenas called for the revitalization of the Jose R. Gonzalez Torres School, which has been abandoned and in poor condition for more than 8 years, envisioning turning it into a service center for the entire community and providing spaces for other organizations. Finally, with the crucial support of the Municipality of Aguas Buenas, the Center for the Reconstruction of Habitat (CRH) and other organizations, cleaning and improvements to the facilities have begun, in a project that not only marks the rebirth of this community, but it is also the first large-scale school rescue in this municipality.
“This is part of my commitment to the people of Aguas Buenas; rescue all abandoned schools. The municipality requested the school and is finalizing an agreement with a coalition of community groups for the reuse of the campus. This project will not only transform a forgotten space into a community center, but also aims to inspire other communities and more municipal leaders to replicate similar actions in favor of sustainable development and social cohesion,” said Karina Nieves Serrano, mayor of Aguas Buenas.
The First Municipal Executive, who shared the school with community residents and Luis Gallardo Rivera, Executive Director of CRH, highlighted the support of this entity to ensure that the school was transferred to the municipality and for its active participation in the revitalization process through a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“We are very grateful because they helped us with the proposal. We went to the governor's office and they approved us to have this school for the municipality like the other three that we rescued. This is part of what we want in our administration, to work together with non-profit entities and the community, listen to them and ensure that we can work together, which is very important. For us it is very important that we rescue our schools, that we provide service to the community and that is what we are working for,” he emphasized.
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