Cáritas Cienfuegos distributed nearly 700 food kits and an equal number of hygiene kits this Saturday to families in the Parish of San Antonio de Padua and its communities in the municipality of Lajas, just 24 hours after the shipment arrived in the province from the United States, as the organization reported on its social media.
The delivery, coordinated as part of the 100 million dollar humanitarian program approved by the U.S. administration, was completed in a single day thanks to the efforts of around fifty volunteers and more than a dozen dockworkers who began their tasks at dawn.
The food modules include rice, beans, oil, sugar, pasta, sardines, and tuna, while the hygiene kits contain soaps, detergent, toothpaste, toothbrushes, water purification tablets, and rechargeable lamps.
To ensure that aid reached the most remote areas, carts were used to transport the boxes to rural and hard-to-reach regions.
Cáritas emphasized that "such a strategy also allowed reaching the homes of people with disabilities, the sick, and those confined to bed, who received assistance directly from the hands of Cáritas volunteers in Lajas."
The selection criteria prioritized adults over 60 years old, individuals with disabilities or bedridden, pregnant or nursing women, and children under five years old. They attended distribution points established in the parish and its communities after being previously identified due to their vulnerable circumstances.
The response from the community was one of deep emotion. Cáritas described moving scenes in the streets of Lajas —the birthplace of the legendary musician Benny Moré—: "a neighbor rejoiced in the street because the sick woman from her neighborhood received assistance; another elderly woman in a wheelchair could not contain her emotions, and several people simply gave thanks to God."
The shipment arrived on Friday at Abel Santamaría International Airport in Santa Clara and was received by Father Manel Homar Toboso, the general vicar of the Diocese of Cienfuegos, and Ana Isabel Palenque Guillemí, director of Cáritas Cienfuegos.
The organization itself acknowledged the limitations of the initiative: “the aid does not cover all the needs or all the Cuban citizens who currently live in vulnerable situations,” although it emphasized that the people of Lajas recognized the relief it provides amid the crisis.
This shipment to Cienfuegos is part of the geographical expansion of the program, which on September 16 expanded its reach to five provinces: Camagüey, Ciego de Ávila, Cienfuegos, Matanzas, and Pinar del Río. Of the 100 million dollars total, 60 million are channeled through the Catholic Church —via Cáritas Cuba and Catholic Relief Services— and the remaining 40 million through other independent organizations, with no Cuban state intervention at any stage of the process.
Cáritas announced that it will provide more details about the distribution in Lajas, including testimonials from beneficiaries and volunteers who participated in the event. It is estimated that the total program will benefit between 100,000 and 120,000 families across Cuba.
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