The distribution prioritized people with disabilities, elderly people who live alone, pregnant women and sick children.
MIAMI, United States. – Cáritas Cuba distributed food modules and hygiene items this weekend to 521 families affected by Hurricane Melissa in the community of El Cobre, Santiago de Cuba. The aid is part of the donation from the United States to the people of Cuba, which began arriving on the Island last week.
The delivery took place at the El Cobre Retreat and Coexistence House and was organized free of charge with local volunteers. according to the Cáritas Cuba Communication Team.
The distribution, according to the report, prioritized people with disabilities, elderly people who live alone, pregnant women and sick children, previously identified by Cáritas teams in the community after the meteorological phenomenon occurred on October 29.
According to Cáritas, in this first phase assistance reached a first group of family units selected by the magnitude of the damage and “other vulnerability criteria.”
In El Cobre, the delivery was accompanied by the archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, the director of diocesan Cáritas, a representative of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and priest Rogelio Deán Puerta, parish priest and rector of the Basilica Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad. The text adds that the diocesan team and volunteers from Cáritas del Cobre also participated.
The organization detailed that it called people in a staggered manner to ensure adequate attention and that, upon receiving the modules, the families reviewed the contents of the packages. To facilitate access to those who live in mountainous and difficult-to-access areas, Cáritas hired several means of transportation, according to the same report. The delivery remained at the facility “until 9:00 p.m. this Saturday” and continued throughout Sunday.
In a second noteCáritas specified the figure of 521 families served and reiterated that the donation included food modules and hygiene items. The director of Cáritas in the diocese, Ana María Piñol Navarrete, reported that in future shipments the aid will be extended to complete 660 families that are already identified as those most vulnerable after the hurricane, in addition to the delivery of “another effects module for use at home,” according to that report.
Cáritas Cuba presented the operation as part of logistical coordination so that material assistance reaches effectively those who need it most in the eastern territory. In its assessment, the organization described the action as a gesture of international solidarity in the face of the emergency, channeled through the network of the Catholic Church in Cuba, and framed it in what it described as its mission of service in times of adversity.
In addition to distribution in Santiago de Cuba, the organization reported the start of deliveries in the province of Holguín.
