A new shipment of humanitarian aid from the Government of the United States arrived in Cuba this Tuesday, with 700 food modules and another 700 hygiene product modules intended for vulnerable families in the Diocese of Ciego de Ávila.
The shipment arrived in the morning at Abel Santamaría International Airport in Santa Clara and was organized through the Catholic Church and Cáritas Cuba, according to the latter organization.
During the reception, Father Dariusz Chalupczynski, the ordinary of the Avila diocese, and Roberto Armas Carbonell, diocesan director of Caritas, were present to assist with the unloading of the donation alongside airport workers and volunteers.
The aid will be transported to the parish of Gaspar, in Ciego de Ávila, from where it will begin to be distributed to families previously selected based on vulnerability criteria.
Among the priority beneficiaries are adults over 60 years old, persons with disabilities or bedridden, pregnant women or those in the postpartum period, and children under five years old.
The volunteers from Cáritas will be responsible for delivering the products directly to the families. According to the organization, the staff involved received prior training to ensure that the process is conducted in an organized and transparent manner.
The new shipment is part of the 100 million dollar humanitarian assistance program approved by the United States to support the Cuban population.
Of that amount, 60 million is channeled through Cáritas Cuba and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), while the remaining 40 million dollars are managed by independent organizations.
The Catholic Church has clarified that Cáritas does not receive the 60 million dollars in cash. The funds are used to purchase food, hygiene products, and other supplies, as well as to cover the necessary logistics to deliver them to the beneficiaries.
The arrival in Ciego de Ávila is part of the program's expansion to other provinces. In mid-September, the United States announced new shipments for Camagüey, Ciego de Ávila, Cienfuegos, Matanzas, and Pinar del Río.
On October 1st, another U.S. shipment arrived in Camagüey, where 700 modules began to be distributed among families in the communities of Lugareño and Nuevitas.
Weeks earlier, a similar shipment had arrived in Santa Clara destined for the Diocese of Cienfuegos, also consisting of 700 food modules and 700 hygiene modules for vulnerable households.
The U.S. program plans to gradually extend assistance to various communities on the island, prioritizing households facing food insecurity and other situations of special vulnerability.
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