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The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) donated two trailers with tiles and purlins for the reconstruction of several schools affected by Hurricane Melissa in Santiago de Cuba.
The trucks departed from the warehouses of the Education Assurance Company in Havana, reported the Cuban office of UNICEF on Facebook.
"Each of these materials will help girls and boys return to studying in safe spaces. The recovery of schools is one of the priorities after an emergency, because restoring the school routine also contributes to the emotional well-being of children," reads the post.
UNICEF stated that its team remains on the ground and will visit communities in Granma and Santiago de Cuba next week to "support recovery processes, listen to families, and ensure that aid reaches those who need it most."
Last week it was announced that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has allocated more than 2.2 million dollars to the eastern provinces of Cuba affected by Hurricane Melissa, aiming to promote the recovery of homes, shelters, and basic services in the most impacted areas.
According to information from the UNDP, the funds mobilized so far are part of the coordinated response of the United Nations System in Cuba to the severe impacts of the hurricane, which left more than 90,000 affected homes in the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, and Guantánamo.
The aid includes contributions from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism, channeled through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In the province of Granma 12,000 metal sheets for roofs were sent and 3,963 tarpaulins intended for temporary shelters, in addition to 42 specialized toolkits and six chainsaws for the reconstruction brigades.
In Guantánamo, the distribution includes 217 tool kits, 2,000 single mattresses, and 720 tarps to restore basic living conditions in the municipality of Imías.
Santiago de Cuba received another 4,375 tarps to cover damaged homes, primarily in Guamá.
The initiative also includes the delivery of seven electric generators to Early Warning Points, aimed at facilitating the charging of essential equipment and ensuring the coordination of local response to emergencies.
These actions are carried out in close collaboration with the Civil Defense, which maintains operational control over the distribution on the ground.
UNDP emphasized that the resources aim to strengthen local capacities to provide safe shelters and accelerate the early recovery of affected families.
The organization anticipates new deliveries of materials and equipment in the coming weeks as international funding is secured.
While the regime struggles to handle the reconstruction, international aid remains the main support for thousands of families in eastern Cuba who are facing the devastation left by Hurricane Melissa.
Furthermore, although the government has not officially declared a state of disaster, the extent of the damage and the scope of international aid highlight the true scale of the disaster.
The hurricane Melissa affected over 3.5 million Cubans, according to new estimates from the United Nations that significantly raise the initial figures published by the island's government.
The information was disseminated by the agency EFE, which cited an official report from the UN prepared after an assessment visit to the most severely affected areas in eastern Cuba, where the cyclone made landfall twelve days ago as a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
According to the report, more than 90,000 homes suffered partial or total damage, and about 100,000 hectares of crops were devastated.
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