Location: Cuba

Local association :AIC Cuba

Person in charge :Mrs. Matilde Raña
Address : Ciudad Habana CP 10300

Objective :
To offer food and support to the elderly in a situation of poverty and loneliness.

Activities :
Three times a week, the volunteers prepare a meal at home, then they share it with lonely elderly either at their houses, or in a canteen, or at their own home.

History of the project :
AIC Cuba team is a new AIC group. « Return to basics » is a national project to which the volunteers devote their time assiduously. It has a multiplier effect and it allows to meet volunteers’ as well as beneficiaries’ food needs.
In Cuba, living conditions are difficult, the present economical situation is really very hard, there is an important shortage of food products and costs are very high.
Every day, the volunteers who work in this project prepare a meal for their family. They commit themselves to sharing it with the elderly having no resources. The volunteers receive five pesos a day, it means a quarter of a dollar, to support the costs. According to them, this project allows them not only to serve, but also to share and even to improve their nutrition.
« Return to Basics » project born in October 2000, is very large today and it has even received the government’s recognition, as about 300 elderly are enjoying it at present.
This project also has arisen awareness in the volunteers’ families who are interested in and who sometimes come and share the meal. This allows to widen relationships between volunteers and beneficiaries who, finally, share quite more than a simple meal.

Beneficiaries :
Elderly in poverty and loneliness situation

Local contribution : AIC members’ labor and time.

Total Budget :: USD 5,000 a year