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SIEMBRA CONNECT | WEEKLY ROUNDUP
Week of June 20, 2026
This week the creator world is packing its bags for its biggest stage of the year VidCon and a few thousand miles away, hundreds of thousands of our people can't turn on a faucet.
VidCon can wait.
Let's get right into it.
I was about to do a full blown issue on social impact but after my last visit to the island, I am feeling strongly compelled to share this as a call to action to all creators… Boricuas, those that love Puerto Rico and anybody that loves Bad Bunny
We need you to activate your timelines…
We know how to make Puerto Rico trend worldwide; we do it every time Bad Bunny drops a show. Every June for the National Puerto Rican Parade
Right now our people can't turn on a faucet.
So let's bring that energy to the thing that can't wait: post the fundraiser, share the story, make the island impossible to ignore. We move for the culture…
Let's move for the community. Seguimos Pa'lante.!
What I can do right now catch you up on the story that isn't trending the way it should:
Puerto Rico's governor activated the National Guard after the rupture of a 72-inch Superaqueduct line in Bayamón triggered the island's latest water crisis, leaving more than 120,000 customers without reliable access. Residents have spent up to two weeks hauling buckets up several flights of stairs to wash dishes, flush toilets, and shower — and it's happening as a moderate drought and early-season extreme heat intensify the strain. The single most valuable thing you own as a creator isn't a brand deal — it's the ability to point a room of people at something that matters. This week, that's the assignment.What's actually going on with the water in Puerto Rico
The receipts (these are your most trustworthy links):
(my most trusted source)
AP, on the ground:
Newsweek on why Puerto Rico has activated the National Guard.
Why an island surrounded by water has no water
Short version: I have to clarify that this isn't really about a drought. It's about decades of colonial related neglect.
The numbers say it plain about 59% of treated water never makes it to anybody. It leaks out, gets lost, disappears. And it'd take around $551 million over six years just to replace the aging pipes. Fewer people live on the island now, so there are fewer ratepayers footing the bill, and here's the kicker the money is often already approved. It just gets stuck in permitting, staffing, and red tape instead of becoming actual repaired pipe. Even the governor admits the system's been starved of maintenance for decades.
Debbie Perez is an incredible voice for all things Puerto Rico and is an example of how you can share your voice and educate our community about whats happening in la isla. Visit her on YouTube and support her work.
Here are some other sources to dig deeper:
ASCE engineers, for the hard numbers:
Inside Climate News, on rural communities running their own water on volunteer labor — and the federal grants that got yanked:
What could actually fix it…
There's an emergency layer (tanker trucks, water points, the San Juan mayor suing the water authority for answers) and then there's the real fix — the structural stuff:
The government says it's putting $213.4 million in federal money toward upgrades, plus billions more in the pipeline and a new system to catch failures faster. Read it as their official promise and hold them to it:
https://www.prfaa.pr.gov/recent-press-releases/governor-announces-major-federal-funding-allocation-to-strengthen-puerto-ricos-water-infrastructure Pr
Replacing lead pipes with low-interest federal financing: https://oversightboard.pr.gov/improving-puerto-ricos-clean-water-supply/
The community-built answers that don't wait on anybody — rainwater catchment, filtration, solar-powered systems built by neighbors and nonprofits. This is the siembra energy: build it yourself, own it, share it.
What you can actually do about it
Here's the thing nobody says out loud: Puerto Rico is fighting this with one hand tied. No senators. No voting member of Congress. Just one non-voting Resident Commissioner for the whole island. Which means those of us in the states have a voice the island doesn't… so we use it.
Call your own reps (even if if you're stateside). Don't be vague. The ask is specific: get the already-approved water money unstuck, and restore the grants that got cut. Stuck money is the whole problem.
HOW TO MAKE NOISE FOR PUERTO RICO: A 5-MINUTE GUIDE
The island can't vote its way out of this. Puerto Rico has no senators and just one non-voting representative in Congress…. so the people who do have a vote (that's a lot of us) have to use it on the island's behalf. Five minutes.
Here's exactly how.
(source: GovTrack.us)
1. Find out who you call.
Stateside? You've got two senators and a representative who answer to you. Reach all of them through the U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121 — they'll connect you. Or look them up at senate.gov and house.gov.
On the island? Your federal voice is Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández (hernandez.house.gov). Also hit your local legislators and the Governor's office — PRASA and the commonwealth own the day-to-day response.
2. Know the specific ask. ("Help Puerto Rico" gets ignored. Specifics get action.)
Unstick the money. Billions in water funding is already approved — it's drowning in permitting and red tape. Demand it move now.
Restore the cut grants. Federal environmental-justice water grants got frozen and killed. Ask for them back.
Back the bill. There's already a Puerto Rico Water Infrastructure Resilience Act introduced in Congress — tell them to move it, not bury it.
3. Say it (steal this script).
"Hi, my name is ___ and I'm calling from ___. I'm urging [Senator/Representative ___] to act on the water crisis in Puerto Rico, where over 120,000 people lost reliable running water. I want them to (1) speed up release of already-approved federal water funds, (2) restore the environmental-justice water grants that were cut, and (3) support the Puerto Rico Water Infrastructure Resilience Act. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and they deserve water. Can I count on [the office] to act?"
4. Don't do it alone and don't do it quiet.
Screenshot your ask. Post it. Tag three people who love this island. Then tell your timeline you made the call and challenge them to do the same.
One call is a drop. A flooded inbox is a movement.
WHAT I NEED FROM YOU!!!
Share resources with people and orgs already doing the work.
At the time of publishing, I do not have informations that is vetted and trusted. We are researching a list of options… if you have info on options we should consider email us at [email protected]
🧠 CREATOR MENTAL HEALTH
Before you go…
Solidarity Has a Sustainable Speed
When a crisis hits a community you love, the instinct is to absorb all of it… every video, every update, every comment and pour yourself out until there's nothing left. But empathy isn't a renewable resource if you never refill it, and a creator who burns out in week one isn't there for the long recovery that actually matters.
Pick one concrete thing this week…amplify one fundraiser, share one story, send one donation then log off and let it be enough. Showing up consistently beats showing up frantically. The work is a marathon, not a moment.
George Torres,
Siembra Connect 🌱
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