1996 Cuba

March 15-24, 1996
The following are excerpts from several articles written about the memorable VOSH/Minnesota trip to Cuba, planned and conducted with Pastors for Peace.

Kirk Thomas, mission leader, reports:
Day 1: The next morning we left Cancun and flew to Jose Marti Int’l. Airport in Cuba. This was our first view of Cuba and I found the airport itself quite nice and clean. We were met by the Pastors for Peace bus, which took us to our host, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center, which is in Ciudad de la Hagana. The Center’s dormitory could hold 80 people. With the help of Pastors for Peace and their connections through the King Center, everything was very well organized…

An interesting city bus tour allowed us to view the area’s century-old architecture. At the city’s museum we learned more about the country’s turbulent history, which seemed to coincide with the time Cuba was discovered by the Spanish.

Our party also was able to walk around the neighborhood near the Center, and we visited a family, a doctor’s home and the doctor’s office. Cuba has about one doctor for every 200 families, and each doctor’s office is set up in a grid system to service the population. Cuba is very big on preventative medicine. But the focus on prevention is driven largely by necessity because they do not have the equipment to efficiently treat sick people. Dr. Ferger best summed up the visit to the doctor’s office with one descriptive word – sparse.

The children at the Center’s church put on a song and dance program for us. Their enthusiasm and talent were unbelievable. Children from other churches actually audition to get into this particular performing group.

Days 2 & 3: The next day we took the bus to Varadero Beach in the Matanzas Province. The Beach itself was spectacular and pristine. The sand was white and soft, and the water was like looking through liquid glass.

Our group did not do any eye examinations, but this was no surprise….The Cubans who came to us had their prescriptions. Getting an eye examination isn’t a problem – filling a prescription is….The optical shop that we worked in was crowded and we bumped into each other – which is not uncommon on VOSH trips. But a policeman stood at the door, and only let the appropriate amount of people in. We brought down about 6500 pair of glasses. We were almost out of plus bifocals in less than two days, then plus single vision and readers. We could have left 90 percent of the minus single vision at home. I talked to the head of the optical shop and Minister of Health about the glasses we would give them and leave behind. They would make a master list of the prescriptions, make copies and disperse the list to other optical shops to see if people in other communities could use them….

We worked for a total of two and half days… filled 1700 prescriptions. But this trip was not set up to try and break records…. The Cubans were so excited about us coming down there, and they wanted to show us so many sites, that they originally only wanted us to work one day!

Day 4: We had a chance to visit the fortress which overlooks the entrance to Havana Harbor built by the Spaniard in the late 18th century.

Day 5: …visited the Pando Ferrer Ophthalmological Hospital. See Dr. Jeppson’s description below.

Day 6: …visit the Abel Santa Maria School for the Blind. We were entertained by a trio – a sighted teacher playing the guitar and two blind students….visited the classrooms and observed how these dedicated teachers were teaching basic skills to these children. Each teacher was in charge of three to five children. You talk about individual attention, these kids got it. We met with the director, who told us how much low vision optical aids (high powered magnifiers) were needed….because of the U.S. embargo, they are not accessible.

Day 7: The following day we drove to what is known as the Vinales Valley, which they say is the most beautiful valley in Cuba, and beautiful it was. From afar you could see tobacco plantations with their expansive fields, drying barns and mammoth rock outcroppings that resembled small mountains….From there we drove to some nearby caves and an underground river where we took a short boat ride.

The Tropicana is the most spectacular of all open air night clubs, an unequaled place to enjoy Cuban and Caribbean music and folklore in all of the colorful music and rhythm. Ever since it was built in 1939, when Cuba was the playground of the world, it has maintained its grandeur and our group thoroughly enjoyed the show.

This trip was a mixture of VOSH work, Cuban people curious about Americans and diplomacy. Every VOSH trip is something special in its own way. This trip had something additional, maybe because we were in Cuba, a country that has long held the mystique and allure of the “forbidden zone” for Americans.