A month after Hurricanes Lili and Isidore hit Cuba, the country is still recovering from the damage. Thousands of people are still living in unsafe, partially destroyed homes because they have nowhere else to go. Most are in need of food and other necessities.
Lili, the more powerful of the two hurricanes
that hit Cuba, brought high winds and eight to 10 feet tidal surges that
battered the Pinar del Rio province and the Isle of Youth. More than 600,000
people were forced to evacuate their homes.
The wreckage from the two hurricanes has been substantial: nearly 37,000 homes damaged, 3,600 of which were completely destroyed, destruction of local coffee and banana plantations and local rice harvests, and downed electricity in some rural and coastal towns. "The damage to homes is overwhelming, much more serious than anyone imagined," said Maritza Sánchez, Executive Director of Caritas Cubana.
Catholic Relief Services continues to work closely with Caritas Cubana to help the population recover.
Catholic Relief Services Responds
Immediately after the hurricanes hit, CRS provided local partner Caritas Cubana with $100,000 to provide an estimated 34,000 people with food and necessities, such as construction materials, household items, mattresses, sheets and blankets. CRS is also working with the Archdiocese of Miami to ship two planeloads of rice, beans and cooking oil to Cuba. CRS and Caritas Cubana's emergency response is addressing three specific needs:
- The distribution of food and other necessities
- Cash assistance for the local purchase of emergency relief and reconstruction supplies
- Institutional support to Caritas in assessing further relief and rehabilitation needs
All emergency distributions will target the most vulnerable including the homeless, the elderly, handicapped, lactating women and children under 10 in the affected areas.
Caritas Cubana will continue its needs assessments in Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Youth and CRS will continue to assist them in any additional emergency relief efforts.
Background
Hurricane Isidore hit the western part of Cuba at the end of September and was quickly followed by Hurricane Lili on October 1, 2002. The Isle of Youth and the towns of San Luis, El Rosario, Sandino, Guane, Puerto Cortés, Los Portales and Isabel Rubio in the Pinar del Rio province were heavily damaged. Heavy rains forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people in flood prone areas. There have been no reports of victims to date, but the damage wrought by the hurricanes has been devastating.
CRS first began working in Cuba in 1958 when it initiated a humanitarian assistance program with the Legion of Christ in Cuba to assist people who had suffered as a result of political unrest and food shortages. CRS began supporting Caritas Cuba shortly after its founding in 1991 and continues to support them today. So far, CRS has delivered over $20 million in medicines and medical supplies to Caritas for distribution through provincial hospitals, homes for the elderly and to other vulnerable groups.
Your support is needed.
Donations can also be made by calling:
1-800-736-3467
or by sending checks to:
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, Maryland 21203-7090.
Copyright=A92002 CRS