Recently the Cuban Council of Churches (CIC) and CBM International, an international Christian development organization, celebrated 20 years of working together to help people with disabilities.[1]
This joint effort includes preventing blindness as a result of cataracts and retinopathy in premature babies, supporting those with limited vision and preventing deafness. Other programs have been education for children with limited vision, the early detection of diseases that may aggravate eye problems, attention to those affected by Hurricane Matthew, and community programs.
CIC President Reverend Joel Ortega Dopico of the Iglesia Presbiteriana-Reformada en Cuba noted the beauty of outcomes, the support provided to beneficiaries of the Revolution’s programs, including professional training provided medical staff and the equipment made available to hospitals and special schools. He likewise emphasized that the effort has served to break the blockade imposed by the U.S. These accomplishments, he added, meshed well with the country’s public policies, adding new knowledge and initiatives to government efforts. Gratitude, he said, is visible in the faces of mothers and fathers when they see their children receiving treatment free of charge.
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[1] Rodriguez, Serving together, a call to life, Granma (Dec. 21, 2017); CBM in Cuba.
