My Fundraising Goal:
$1,800.00 |
Money Raised to Date:
$955.00 |
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If you are unable to donate online, please print out a donation form. |
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| This is me visiting the grave of my great-grandfather in Havana, Cuba
| Since freshman year, I have been involved with Northwestern Hillel’s efforts to provide aid to Jewish Cuba. This year will be my second year as the trip co-leader and coordinator and I could not be more excited. My experience with this project has been unlike anything else, thanks in large part to the support I have had from friends and family. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read what our group does and how you can help.
Cuba, a mystery to most of us in America, is one of the most complex and amazing countries in the world. On the small island is an even smaller Jewish community, currently with around 1,500 members. Before 1959, there were close to ten thousand Jews living in Cuba, mostly in Havana. As immigrants escaping the Holocaust and the pogroms, Jews settled in Cuba looking to build a new, free life. By the 1940s, the community began to flourish. Jews were free to practice their religion on the island and they became an important part of Cuban society. However, by 1960 the new socialist government took the majority of what the community had worked so hard for, and most Jews fled to Miami or various Latin American countries. For a generation, Judaism vanished from the island. Practicing Judaism was illegal, and there was no such thing as a Jewish community center or synagogue. In the early 1990s, Fidel Castro finally deemed religion permissible on the island, and Jewish culture began to resurface. Slowly, Jews in Cuba rediscovered their roots as the community began to regroup.
Sadly, there have been many major obstacles for the Jewish community’s growth. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba’s overall state has spiraled downward and all resources have become scarce. Food rations are not enough; Cubans must buy black market food in order to make ends meet. Basic toiletries are often completely missing from the island, except in tourist stores that Cubans cannot afford. Doctors are well trained, but lack even the most basic tools. The government completely controls Internet content, education, and the media. Salaries are extremely low, and most Cubans must rely on remittances from friends and family abroad. It is not uncommon to step into a Cuban taxi and learn that the driver is a neurosurgeon who drives a cab on the side to earn tips from foreign tourists.
Because of all of these obstacles, the Jewish Cuban community is in dire need of our help. That is why each year 30 members of the Northwestern community – students and faculty – travel to the island to deliver various forms of aid, in the form of monetary donations, medicine and supplies, as well as showing the support of fellow Jews abroad. Through donations, students collect medicines and medical supplies, all of which are given to the only free private pharmacy on the island, operated by two volunteer doctors at the Jewish community center in Havana. Through this pharmacy, Cubans with a prescription (both Jews and non-Jews), are able to gain access to modern medicines that are otherwise not available. This past year, we were able to pack nearly 1500 pounds of aid into our suitcases to deliver to the Jewish community.
The pharmacy is free and open to any Cuban, and relies solely on donations from groups such as ours. Such donations provide Cubans with types of medicines and treatments that are otherwise unavailable or extremely difficult to obtain. Many Jewish Cubans, as well as those from the general community, rely solely on this pharmacy to get the modern medicines that they need. We also bring various other items such as clothes, Israeli food, toiletries, toys, books, sports equipment and Judaica.
Most importantly, we bring the love and support of Jews helping fellow Jews. It is an incredible feeling to know that a Jew, anywhere in the world, can turn to their brothers and sisters for help.
Thank you again for your help, you are doing a tremendous mitzvah. All of the donations I collect will go towards buying supplies for the Jewish Cuban community, as well as paying for projects such as uniting all of the Jewish youth of Cuba for a weekend trip. Donations to Hillel are tax deductable. Our project is fully legal through a religious humanitarian aid permit from the US government. If you would like to learn more about Jewish Cuba, Cuban healthcare, or Cuba in general, here are a few recommendations:
-A memoir of a Cuban Jew who grew up in the US and then traveled back to Cuba:
An Island Called Home by Ruth Behar
-An exciting and eye opening book about U.S. involvement in pre-Castro Cuba:
Havana Nocturne by T.J. English
-A 20/20 Segment on Michael Moore’s portrayal of Cuban Healthcare in the film Sicko: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pqv5ABQP5U
תיקון עולם
Heal the World
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