The humanitarian aid sent by the United States will begin arriving this week at the Diocese of Santa Clara, with an initial shipment entering through the airport of that city and set to reach vulnerable families in the villaclara municipality of Quemado de Güines.
The Diocese of Santa Clara announced this Wednesday the arrival of assistance through a letter from Arturo González Amador, Bishop of Santa Clara.
"This week, the first shipment will be arriving at the Diocese of Santa Clara, via the Santa Clara airport. The area previously selected and already visited by Caritas has been the municipality of Quemado de Güines," the religious leader explained.
According to González, Cáritas has already previously visited the families in that area to identify those who will receive assistance.
After Quemado de Güines, other locations within the diocesan territory will be selected and visited for the next shipments.
The bishop acknowledged that the available assistance will not reach all those in need and that they will have to focus on the most vulnerable cases.
"We will only be able to assist the most urgent cases and the most painful situations," he stated, while acknowledging that these modules will barely be able to alleviate the needs of the beneficiary families for a few days.
González emphasized that this is not a permanent social assistance program, but rather humanitarian aid aimed at alleviating immediate needs.
It also made it clear that the beneficiaries do not have to be Catholics.
"This assistance is for any family in extreme poverty and urgent need, whether they are Catholic, believers of another religion, or atheist," he stated.
The shipments arriving in Santa Clara will include food modules, hygiene products, and some household items.
"It is not about benefiting friends and supporters; it is about discovering and assisting the true beneficiaries of the project in question," the bishop added, explaining that Cáritas must adhere to the purpose established by those who provide the resources.
The arrival of these supplies in Villa Clara is part of the package of 100 million dollars previously announced by the United States for Cuba.
From that fund, the Catholic Church, through Caritas, will coordinate the distribution of aid valued at 60 million dollars, while the remaining 40 million will be channeled through other organizations.
The United States had confirmed in June that distribution of the program, which is now continuing to expand to different areas of the island.
González clarified that the 60 million managed by Cáritas corresponds to the value of the modules and the logistics needed to deliver them to the beneficiaries, not to a cash handout to the religious organization.
The project is supported by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), a Catholic Church organization in the United States that has maintained a collaborative relationship with Cáritas Cuba for over 30 years.
According to the bishop, CRS and Cáritas Cuba coordinate the preparation of food, sanitation, and household modules. The shipments are then sent to the island, and Cáritas receives them directly at the ports or airports to distribute among the previously identified families.
The program has already started to roll out in other parts of the country.
In July, the first shipment corresponding to the 100 million dollar aid package left Miami, containing food, hygiene products, and other supplies initially aimed at vulnerable families in Havana.
Cáritas Cuba explained that beneficiaries are selected through home visits and vulnerability criteria, prioritizing elderly individuals living alone, pregnant women and nursing mothers, people with disabilities or those confined to bed, and families with young children in vulnerable situations.
This package of 100 million dollars is different from the emergency aid that Washington had previously allocated to eastern Cuba following Hurricane Melissa.
On that occasion, the United States initially allocated three million dollars and later added another six million to raise the emergency package to nine million, distributed mainly through Caritas and parishes of the affected dioceses.
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