On July 11, thousands of Cubans took to the streets of Havana and elsewhere in the country in what the CBC called “some of the largest displays of anti-government sentiment in decades.”

Eleven million people live in Cuba. By mid-July, Reuters reports the country had a staggering average of nearly 4,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases per million residents daily, nine times higher than the world average and more than any other country in the Americas for its size.

As the Delta variant swept through the country, shortages of food and medical supplies stirred protesters to take to the streets demanding access to basic necessities and human rights. It also prompted one Mission & Service partner to open its doors.

When hospitals in Cuba were pushed to capacity, the Christian Centre for Reflection and Dialogue-Cuba―a  Mission & Service partner―moved quickly to convert its building to help. Today, the building is being used as a field hospital and isolation centre for children and their families who have been exposed to the virus, as well as a vaccine centre to get doses administered as widely as possible. The generosity is inspiring others to be generous, too.

Local business owners and the public have begun to donate food, transportation, masks, and more. “In recent days, we have welcomed representatives of different businesses in the city to our institution with special contributions: cake, ice cream, jams, and graphic prints with hopeful messages,” says the Centre in a report, calling the groundswell of kindness “gratifying.”

Throughout the pandemic, your support through Mission & Service has helped provide vital personal protective equipment, shelter, and food for people in Canada and around the world when they need it most. Now, it is also providing life-saving vaccines.

Thank you for all the ways you are making a difference!

You can give to Mission & Service through our congregation. You'll find information in the "offerings" section below.