NJT Manitoba – Winnipeg wishes to thank Rob for taking supplies to Cuba! Here is Rob’s story:
“Our Cuba trip went very well although the ocean temperature and the stinging jellyfish discouraged us from snorkeling.
We delivered the medical suitcase to the clinic in Arcos de Canasi in Mayabeque Province, the same as the previous 3 times. You might find it interesting to look up “clinica Arcos De Canasi” on Google Earth to see the clinic and the town.
Although we arrived at the resort, Starfish Jibicoa on Dec 31st
and took part in their New Year’s celebration, it was January 6th when we got to the clinic. The husband of one of the waitresses at the resort has a small Russian car so we gave him gas money to take us to Canasi (and also to Santa Cruz del Norte where we delivered some bike repair parts and tools to a bike shop).
Just thought you might be interested in this activity we have also been involved in. So far we have only been able to take one bike per tourist but sometimes there have been several of us and often I prepared bikes and sent them with church groups and others going to Cuba. It was started about 15 years ago by a member of our church who has since moved to BC but I soon took over. We think it totals 153 bikes including the 2 we took this time. We pack as many spare parts as possible into the bike boxes up to the maximum weight allowed by the airline.
This time, besides the 2 bikes, we got in several tires and tubes, over 100 shifter and brake cables which I bought from China, brake pads, some tools and an assortment of other parts.
The first time we went to the clinic (before Covid) we noticed a lot of skepticism about why we were just showing up with a suitcase of medical supplies for them. This time, maybe because they recalled previous deliveries or maybe because we were with a Cuban couple who live in their town, they were just very welcoming. It was the clinic administrator and another administrative person who met with us. They were obviously very pleased. Although they
serve a large population, supplies are in very short supply. We included a couple of bottles of pain killers left over from some facial surgery I had last spring but no doubt more actual medication would have been appreciated if it was possible to include it.
We thank you for the work you do gathering and packing these medical supplies.
Rob”
