A new shipment of humanitarian aid from the United States government arrived this Thursday at Abel Santamaría International Airport in Santa Clara, destined for the Diocese of Cienfuegos.
Cáritas Cuba reported that the shipment was received by Father Manel Homar Toboso, the vicar general of the Diocese of Cienfuegos, and by Ana Isabel Palenque Guillemí, director of Cáritas Cienfuegos.
As with previous deliveries, the shipment includes 700 food kits and 700 hygiene product kits, which will begin to be distributed immediately through the Parish of Lajas and its communities.
The volunteers from the parish Caritas will handle the direct delivery to homes previously identified with food insecurity and difficulties in access to water.
The selection criteria prioritize the most vulnerable groups: adults over 60 years old, people with disabilities or bedridden individuals, pregnant or nursing women, and children under five years old.
This shipment arrives a day after the Embassy of the United States in Cuba announced new shipments for five provinces: Camagüey, Ciego de Ávila, Cienfuegos, Matanzas, and Pinar del Río.
The diplomatic representation reported that it met with Carmen María Nodal Martínez, director of Cáritas Cuba, to coordinate the arrival of the upcoming shipments, and emphasized that "it appreciates Cáritas's efforts to support the people."
The shipment to Cienfuegos is part of the humanitarian program of 100 million dollars approved by the U.S. administration, of which 60 million is channeled through the Cuban Catholic Church —via Cáritas Cuba and Catholic Relief Services— and the remaining 40 million through other independent organizations.
The Church has clarified that Cáritas does not receive those funds in cash: the money is allocated to purchasing products in the United States and to covering the logistics of distribution, so that the Cuban government does not intervene at any stage of the process.
The program officially launched on July 21, when the first shipment left Miami carrying nearly 18 tons of supplies, and the first local deliveries were made in Bejucal and Alquízar.
At the beginning of September, a similar shipment arrived in Santa Clara destined for families in Quemado de Güines and Rancho Veloz, in Villa Clara. Ambassador Mike Hammer visited the province from September 13 to 15 to personally oversee the distribution.
The shipment this Thursday to the Pearl of the South marks the expansion of the program into the southern region. The Diocese of Cienfuegos encompasses the eponymous province and the municipality of Trinidad in Sancti Spíritus, and includes 22 parishes.
It is estimated that the total program will benefit between 100,000 and 120,000 families throughout Cuba, although the bishop of Santa Clara, Arturo González Amador, warned from the outset that the scope is limited: "This is humanitarian aid, not a permanent social assistance project."
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