The United States President, Donald Trump’s administration has made good its commitment to deliver $3 million in much-needed disaster relief to the Cuban people affected by Hurricane Melissa. The administration said that towards actualizing this purpose, it would be “working closely with the Catholic Church to ensure assistance reaches the Cuban people directly and without regime interference.”
These are contained in a recent statement by the State Department which stressed that the “United States remains steadfast in supporting the Cuban people’s post-disaster recovery.” It announced further that the first in a series of shipments of humanitarian assistance were designed to reach those most in need, “bypassing regime interference, and ensuring transparency and accountability.”
The statement insisted that the US’s “humanitarian assistance is part of a broader effort to stand with the Cuban people as they seek a better future,” noting that the “support will reach an estimated 6,000 families—approximately 24,000 individuals—in the hardest-hit provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Granma, and Guantanamo.”
It also said that Charter flights carrying assistance were to depart from Miami on January 14 and January 16 and arrive in Holguin and Santiago de Cuba, respectively with each flight expected to deliver more than 525 food kits and 650 hygiene and water treatment kits, reaching over 1,000 families.
A commercial vessel is also scheduled to dock in Santiago de Cuba in a few weeks carrying the rest of the assistance which include, but are not limited to Food Kits: Rice, beans, oil, and sugar to help families meet basic nutritional needs; Hygiene and Water Treatment Kits: Water purification tablets and storage containers for safe drinking water; Kitchen Sets: Pots and cooking utensils to help families prepare meals; Household Items: Sheets and blankets to stay warm, solar lanterns for lighting during outages, and other essentials.
Cuba and some other countries in the region were affected by the recent Hurricane Melissa that swept though the region.
