Two nonprofit religious organizations from the Tampa Bay area have intensified their efforts to assist Cuba amid an unrelenting humanitarian crisis: with blackouts lasting up to 25 hours a day, severe food shortages, and a collapse in access to medications.
According to a report by Univision, on Tuesday, July 28, The Hands and Feet of Christ Jesus arranged for the shipment of solar panels to a church in Cuba, aiming to keep food and medicine cool without relying on the island's deteriorating electrical grid.
Steven Wissinger, founder and president of the organization, explained to Tampa Bay 28 that the panels will generate enough energy to keep a refrigerator running continuously, eliminating the worry of preserving food that requires refrigeration, a daily issue for Cuban families.
The organization, founded in 2020, has scheduled a mission trip for August 22, for which it has raised approximately $2,500.
“$2,500 will feed between 1,200 and 1,300 children, and that goes a long way,” said Wissinger, who plans to purchase the food directly in Cuba to maximize the impact of the funds.
In its social media posts, the organization described the magnitude of the problem:
"Cuba is facing a humanitarian emergency: 89% of Cubans live in extreme poverty, food insecurity affects almost every household, and there are fewer than 10,000 care beds for more than two million elderly individuals. Malnutrition has risen by 74% in recent years."
The organization also specified the real cost of solidarity: "Just $2 feeds a Cuban child. $10 feeds five. And every dollar beyond that helps us pack hygiene kits, medications, and supplies for those who need it the most."
Almost 30 years of bringing assistance to the island
CubaMinistry.org, the second organization involved, has nearly three decades of humanitarian work in Cuba through a partnership with hundreds of churches of the Methodist Church of Cuba (IMECU).
Sam Martínez, coordinator of the Guantánamo district and president of the organization's board, warned that the current situation is the most difficult he has ever seen: "This year in 2026, things have become much more challenging, especially regarding medication. With financial assistance, providing food to the children."
In the past five years, CubaMinistry.org has sent several tons of medication for free distribution through the medical commissions of IMECU.
“Thousands of people continue to be with us thanks to the medications we have been able to send to the professionals over there,” Martínez noted.
The organization is also working on improving drinking water systems, a problem that Martínez described bluntly: "Water in Cuba is very, very dirty, and that causes a lot of illness."
Lynn Bordelon, district coordinator of CubaMinistry.org, summarized what it has meant to closely accompany this crisis: "It is very heartbreaking to know and see how things have changed over the years."
Churches as a direct channel, without the regime's mediation
Both organizations have chosen to channel aid exclusively through religious congregations within Cuba, avoiding any intermediation from the regime.
Martínez highlighted the value of that model: "It has been one of the most successful international collaborations between churches in Florida and churches around the world."
Churches are, in practice, one of the few community gathering spaces that are not directly controlled by the Cuban state, making them the most reliable channel for aid to reach those who need it most.
The shipment of solar panels from the diaspora has been facilitated since Cuba exempted solar panels, batteries, and inverters from customs duties through Resolution 41/2026, approved in February of this year.
CubaMinistry.org is already planning its next mission trip for January 2027, while The Hands and Feet of Christ Jesus is heading to the island on August 22 with the goal of feeding more than 1,200 Cuban children.
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