"How could I have imagined that someone would remember me, that they would come to see me this afternoon!" exclaimed José Agustín Farray Ponce, known as "Tito," when he saw the volunteers arriving at his home in Cuatro Caminos, in the province of Matanzas.
The man lives barefoot in a place that has never had electricity, at the foot of a century-old ceiba tree. To deliver the supplies, the team had to venture on foot down a dirt path.
The scene is part of the distribution events documented by Cáritas Matanzas on their social media, following the arrival of the first shipment of humanitarian aid at Juan Gualberto Gómez International Airport in Varadero on October 14.
The modules, donated by the American people, include food and hygiene products for families in situations of extreme vulnerability.
In El Estante, the volunteers visited Emenejilda León Padrón, a woman who has been bedridden for years, whose care has been the responsibility of her husband for over three decades, Orlando Núñez León.
"She was one of the most beautiful women in the area; I spent six months insisting until she finally said yes. If I were to be born again, I would choose her again," Orlando shared. Emenejilda, with a trembling voice, expressed her gratitude for the help and asked that God and the Virgin of Charity be with those who made it possible.
In that same community, assistance was received by Alfredo Molina Pérez, a 59-year-old man who has had severe visual impairment since birth and is the sole caregiver for his 82-year-old mother. It was the first time he received such assistance.
"Sometimes despair gets the best of me, but I try to recover and move on. It’s tough not being able to go out and work, especially with how hard it is to maintain a household," she recounted. Before saying goodbye, she loaded the food module, the heaviest package, and left behind a phrase that summed up her determination to endure: "There is always a light."
The deliveries also reached Alacranes, where the container with supplies arrived near the San Francisco de Paula parish at four thirty in the afternoon, during a brief rain. Father Naydel Echazabal organized a human chain to unload the modules before nightfall.
The packages are marked with the flag of the United States and the logo of Cáritas Cuba, along with a label indicating that they are a "Donation from the people of the United States of America to the citizens of Cuba."
The food modules contain rice, beans, oil, brown sugar, pasta, sardines, and tuna. The hygiene modules include soap, detergent, toothpaste and toothbrushes, water purification tablets, and a rechargeable lamp.
Aid is distributed without the involvement of the Cuban government. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) purchases the products in the United States, and Caritas delivers them directly through its parish network and home visits.
The beneficiaries were previously identified by volunteers, prioritizing those over 60 years old, individuals with disabilities, chronic illness patients, pregnant women, and children under five years of age.
In this first phase, 700 of the 2,100 families selected in the Vicaría Nuestra Señora de la Caridad will receive the modules. The area includes municipalities such as Alacranes, Unión de Reyes, Bolondrón, and Güira. A total of 18,200 family units from the diocese of Matanzas are included in the program.
The distribution is part of a humanitarian aid plan of 100 million dollars announced by the administration of President Donald Trump. Of that amount, 60 million is being channeled through Cáritas Cuba and Catholic Relief Services.
The documented scenes in Matanzas illustrate how assistance reaches individuals facing isolation, disabilities, and challenges in meeting essential needs. In communities where some beneficiaries do not even have electricity, the arrival of volunteers represents direct support amidst the economic crisis that Cuba is experiencing.
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