MIAMI, United States. – Several actions promoted by independent civil society have been launched to offer respite to vulnerable people in different parts of the Island, in the midst of the precarious economic situation that Cuba is going through. These initiatives focus on providing food to those who do not have the resources to pay for a New Year’s Eve lunch or dinner, according to reports published on social networks.
In the Havana municipality of Guanabo, Bar K5 advertisement who wants to repeat his solidarity experience from last December: “Let’s do it again! At Bar K5 we want to repeat this December the beautiful experience we had last year of being able to give a day of happiness to those most in need,” the owner of the establishment, Hugo Puig González, wrote on Facebook.
The entrepreneur also invited businesses and individuals in the area to join the initiative to provide “an afternoon of joy and a good New Year’s Eve meal” to homeless people and low-income families.
For his part, in Santiago de Cuba, the Anglican Benedictine priest Rodhin A. Colomarhoy reported on Facebook that, on December 21, “food was taken to bedridden people in a delicate health situation that prevents them from leaving their homes” during a community lunch held at the San Pedro Mission, in the Flores neighborhood. The initiative benefited 200 people, who were offered a simple but nutritious menu.
Meanwhile, the Breath of Life project, coordinated by Yankiel Fernández, walked the streets of Old Havana and its surroundings on December 22. “As we traditionally do every December, we leave our comfort zone and with the little we have we share with those who have less. Today we have been able to reach more than 42 homeless people,” said Fernández.
To launch these initiatives, organizations and individuals have had the help of donors and the religious community. Fernández highlighted that, even without having large businesses or belonging to the self-employed sector, the promoters of these initiatives are people who love to “do good” and do it “every day.”