In Spain, the Cuban Shelter Association shines as a ray of light for emigrants from the Caribbean island who arrive in this country, especially in Madrid, the community where the headquarters of this initiative is located.
Founded in the Spanish capital by the Catholic priest Bladimir Navarro Lorenzo, the members of this project presented a campaign this Friday to continue helping Cuban immigrants who arrive in the Iberian country.
Under the title "Donation Campaign: Your Help, My Shelter", the objective is "to provide assistance to Cuban immigrants who arrive in Madrid, find themselves in a vulnerable situation, and need a place to stay," stated the project's organizers to the independent media outlet Diario de Cuba (DDC).
"We also aim to help others with basic necessities, legal guidance, and resources for their social and work integration," they added to emphasize a project that not only focuses on newly arrived individuals in the country, but on all those who are in an irregular situation with their migration status.
The members of this Association are aware of the crisis that Cubans are experiencing, therefore they do not hesitate to state that this situation "leaves no room for hope", due to the ineffective government management of the economy, political repression, harassment, shortages of medicines, food and potable water, increasing violence, and blackouts.
In its years of work, the project holds a series of data representative of the Cuban emigration to Spain and ensures that the majority of those born in Cuba who arrive in this European nation are young individuals of working age and families with young children, "who are left in vulnerable conditions, without access to housing due to not having an economic cushion or work contract to support them," reports DDC.
The aim with this new request for help is to respond to the call of Pope Francis, and for this project to become an "oasis of mercy" that, with the funds raised, will help cover the expenses of rent and supplies for the 17 hosting floors, as well as for the purchase of food, medicine, educational support, fuel, furniture, and other items, as indicated to the aforementioned media.
Cobijo was founded on September 8, 2022, coinciding with the celebrations of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre, Patroness of Cuba.
On their website, they assure that since then they have welcomed 195 Cubans and helped many others with clothing, food, psychological support, and guidance for their regularization in Spain, as well as job search assistance.
Their hours of operation are from Monday to Friday between 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., at the parish which is their headquarters in the municipality of Alcobendas.
Since May 2023, they were officially constituted as an Association before the Community of Madrid.
The number of Cubans residing in Spain has reached a historic peak of almost 200,000, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) of the Iberian country corresponding to January 1, 2023.
Until that date, 198,639 people born in Cuba had been registered, of which 73,548 had resident status.
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