This first shipment of aid will be delivered to Cacocum and other nearby areas affected by Hurricane Melissa.
MIAMI, United States. – Cáritas Cuba received this Wednesday “the first material assistance offered by the United States Government” for families affected in the east of the Island by Hurricane Melissa. The aid arrived at the “Frank País” International Airport in Holguín, the organization confirmed in a statement.
Cáritas Cuba also assured that the distribution of the shipment will be in charge of the territorial teams of the Catholic Church.
According to the note, the shipment was organized by Cáritas Cuba in coordination with Catholic Relief Service, and had technical support from Cáritas Germany during the process. The first donation includes 528 food kits and 660 hygiene kits, which will be delivered “free of charge and directly from the hands of the Cáritas teams” in the Holguín communities of Cacocum and other nearby areas severely affected by the meteor, according to the statement.
Cáritas Cuba added that “at the end of the week” a second shipment is expected for the diocese of Santiago de Cuba, and that later the rest of the aid will continue to arrive by sea. This assistance, the organization specified, will benefit around 6,000 families from four eastern dioceses: Holguín-Las Tunas, Bayamo-Manzanillo, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo-Baracoa.
“The Christian sense of charity that unites us motivates this donation from the people of the United States of America to citizens of Cuba who were harmed by a disastrous hurricane in October of last year,” the religious entity stressed.
Likewise, he indicated that the delivery will be carried out in accordance with “the values and principles of the Catholic Church” and the “Safeguard Policy of Cáritas Cuba”, which, he stated, implies recognition and dignified treatment of the beneficiaries, their protection, transparency in the service and “a message of hope in God” in the face of adverse circumstances, according to the statement.
For its part, the US Government announced this Wednesday that, fulfilling its “commitment to deliver 3 million dollars” to the “Cuban people affected by Hurricane Melissa”, was sending the first shipment of humanitarian aid to the Island.
In a statement Released this Wednesday, the US State Department confirmed that the aid is designed to benefit some 6,000 families, equivalent to around 24,000 people, in the most affected eastern provinces: Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Granma and Guantánamo.
“Our humanitarian assistance is part of a broader effort to support the Cuban people in their search for a better future,” said the State Department.
The logistical plan described by Washington includes charter flights departing from Miami on January 14 and 16.
On each flight, the United States plans to deliver “more than 525 food packages and 650 hygiene and water treatment packages,” with a reach of “more than 1,000 families” per flight. To complete the rest of the shipment, the statement indicates that a commercial ship, scheduled to dock in Santiago de Cuba “in a few weeks,” will transport the missing part of the aid.
The State Department specified some components of the support: in food, it mentioned packages with rice, beans, oil and sugar so that families cover “basic nutritional needs.” In hygiene and water treatment, he cited purifying tablets and storage containers “to store drinking water.” It also indicated the inclusion of kitchen packs with pots and utensils to facilitate meal preparation, as well as household items including sheets and blankets, solar lanterns to provide light during power outages, and “other essential items.”
The US Secretary of State, the Cuban-American Marco Rubio, announced the shipment in his
Until the time of publishing this note, the Cuban regime had not alluded in any of its media to the arrival of US aid.
