MEMPHIS, Tenn. —Who can forget the images of the powerful punch Hurricane Maria left behind?
A deadly humanitarian crisis for the millions living there the power grid wiped out.
Now months after the hurricanes initial impact more Mid-Southerners are making it their mission to help.
“ We thought about it and just felt our hearts went out to the people of Puerto Rico,” Josh Giannini said.
Josh Giannini and Shane Boehmer are two of the more than 30 volunteers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers heading out to help this weekend.
They will be making sure power generators are functioning properly and are distributed correctly.
The two men are fathers, their families making sacrifices.
“My wife was supportive of it I was kinda surprised I wasn’t sure she’d be that keen on me leaving with two little ones at home but she wanted to help and that’s how she felt she could help covering things at home for me,” Giannini said.
“Myself I’m leaving my wife and our six little children. Our oldest is 12, our youngest is 4 and this will be my first time away from them at Christmas,” Shane Boehmer said.
But they say their sacrifices are small in comparison to what those in Puerto Rico are going through and this is a teaching moment for their children.
“We just decided we have blessings and the people in Puerto Rico don’t have even so much as lights on that if I go there and the efforts get the lights on in someone’s house for Christmas its worth the efforts,” Boehmer said.