Programs in Cuba
In Cuba the Association has decided to focus its resources on the elderly. These individuals, for the most part, live alone, with little to no income, even when they possess a high degree of education. Many have distant families, with no means or interest in assisting them. In some cases, they are forced to live in small, overcrowded, homes – a consequence of the aging population of Cuba, and the lack of capacity in existing homes for the elderly.
BLESSED GERARD ELDERLY ASSISTANCE CENTERS
The current work of the Cuban Association of the Order of Malta in Cuba began in 1999, a year after the visit of Pope St. John Paul II to Cuba. In 1999, members of the Cuban Association travelled to Cuba and were introduced us to a priest who wanted to establish a dining room for the elderly in Los Pinos, a neighborhood in Havana. From that first comedor, the program has grown with the help of the bishops and clergy in Cuba, to over 60 points of service throughout the Island serving over 5,000 elderly.
The basic point of service is the Comedor or dining hall. A Comedor operates within a parish or other Church institution, and is generally open between two to five times a week, serves a light breakfast and lunch and provides a place where the elderly can gather and socialize. Comedores normally serve between 30 to 50 individuals, and also provide at-home food delivery for the home-bound. We are currently transitioning many Comedores into Casas de Abuelos (Homes for the Elderly) in places where we have a presence with the available resources, including personnel, to make it possible. These homes would operate five days per week, 8-10 hours per day and provide the elderly with enhanced daily care, including meals, exercise, entertainment, spiritual growth, medical treatment, fresh laundry, and anything else that is within our means to provide.
SUSTAINABILITY
One of the principal challenges facing Cuba is developing a sustainable food supply. Cuba currently imports approximately 80 percent of the food it consumes. In an effort to address this need, the Cuban Association is working with another religious order on developing a farm on the outskirts of Havana. The production of the farm, primarily produce in the beginning, will be made available to the various points of service of the Order in Havana. To make this possible, we are in the process of obtaining, and importing, irrigation equipment and other essentials. The desire is to replicate this model throughout the Island.
IN-KIND DONATIONS
Partnering with Food for the Poor, the Cuban Association has arranged for in-kind donations, initially of food, to the distributed with the assistance of the Catholic Church in Cuba.
disaster relief
In addition to these routine programs, the Cuban Association assists as it is able with the needs presented as a result of natural disasters. For example, after Hurricane Sandy (2012) the Cuban Association partnered with Malteser International Americas to fund the rebuilding of 63 damaged homes where lived the elderly who were affiliated with the Commedor operated at the Cathedral of Santiago de Cuba. And most recently, after Hurricane Wilma (2017), the Association was able to deliver about $200,000 of emergency aid to Caritas Cuba with the assistance of the Order’s Ambassador in Havana and staff of the Grand Magistry who worked with Cuba’s embassies in Rome and Washington, D.C.
Order of Malta
Cuban Association
2655 S. Lejeune Road
Suite 918
Coral Gables, FL 33134
Phone: (786) 888-6494/6496
