Total Goal: $10,000
Thank you for helping us meet our initial goal! We'll keep the fundraising going through the end of the month, as every extra dollar will be used to fund ongoing food and medical outreaches at Pastor Yaisel's church.
Update from Pastor Yaisel
The Situation
Life in Cuba has been difficult for decades but has reached near-emergency levels in the last few years. The situation is dire, with inflation skyrocketing (39% in 2022), access to medication minimal to nonexistent, and daily power blackouts. The average Cuban lives off of $15USD per month. A pound of beans might cost $2, a carton of eggs $8. Many people are skipping meals.
We are proud to partner with Aliento Cuba, a Morgan Hill-based non-profit deeply committed to addressing the spiritual and humanitarian needs of people living in small rural towns and hamlets in Cuba. Aliento Cuba works hand-in-hand with local pastors and community leaders, who intimately know and identify the people who need help the most in their community, ensuring that our efforts are targeted and effective.
One of these pastors is Yaisel Lima, pastor of Iglesia Bautista (Baptist Church), a church in the small city of Caibarien. Several Calvary staff members met Pastor Yaisel in April when he visited California with Aliento Cuba staff.
Pastor Yaisel’s church provides meals to 35 elderly individuals five days a week and breakfast for schoolchildren in an extremely poor community nearby.
Aliento Cuba also funds medicines and medical supplies for approximately 100 people in this community per month, facilitated by a church member who is a doctor. Pastor Yaisel is committed to sharing the hope of the gospel with his community.
The Opportunity
We are kicking off a summer project to raise funds through Aliento Cuba for Pastor Yaisel’s church and their outreach projects to their community. These are brothers and sisters in Christ who need food and medicine, and we have the opportunity to mature in our faith by helping them.
The project will run through July. Aliento Cuba will then utilize the funds to purchase medication through Blessings International as well as help fund and grow the church’s food outreach. A few months after we send our funds to Aliento Cuba, they will update us with an exact accounting of what these funds were used to enable.
Due to the strength of the US dollar in Cuba, even a donation of $5 has an immense impact. Please consider giving any amount you can as we seek to live a mature life of faith that extends compassion to our brothers and sisters in need. See the list at the bottom of the page to see what your gift specifically can do based on the requests and needs of the church in Caibarien.
The church serves 150 elderly individuals. The last Saturday of each month they have a celebration that includes lunch. Aliento Cuba also works with the elderly at the government’s Home for the Elderly and at the Day CareCenter for the elderly. Monday through Friday they provide lunch for 35 elderly individuals. Some come to the church where they have a devotional and their meal. Others have the meal delivered to their home. We talked about helping them upgrade their facilities and maybe providing pots and a stove.
Their church has 30 thriving adult small groups.
The church has 10 children groups that meet on a weekly basis near their homes. Every Saturday they have a children’s event in the afternoon usual attendance is 300. They serve them a snack at the conclusion of the event.
The leaders are responsible for bringing the children in their group to the events on Saturdays, looking after them during the event and returning them to their homes. If the children live too far, they travel using rented carts or horse carts. There are three very poor neighborhoods in Caibarien.
They want to increase number of children they are able to feed breakfast to each morning before school.
The church's youth pastor currently serves 60 middle school and 40 high school students. They have weekly small groups and everyone comes Saturday nights at 8:30 PM for an event.
WHAT CAN MY GIFT ACCOMPLISH?
Medication & Medical Supplies
$5 can buy 10 epinephrine rescue meds for people with life-threatening allergies
$8 can buy 100 surgical gloves
$10 can buy an albuterol inhaler for a person with asthma
$15 can buy a year’s worth of multivitamins for a malnourished child
$20 can buy 9 months of prenatal vitamins for a pregnant mother
$25 can buy a year's worth of diabetes medication for one person
$35 can buy 12 surgical suture sets
Goal: $1,000
Kitchen Improvement Wish List
$650 - 40qt pressure cooker (2 requested)
$707 - 24qt Braising Pot
$789 - Electric range with 4 burners
$1885 - Industrial blender
$50 - Electric espresso coffee maker
$398 - Industrial bread maker
$427 - carbon steel kitchen knife set
$100 - for skimmer, ladle, colander
$189 - 4 kitchen faucets ½” one of them with an extension to wash pots.
$429 - Waterdrop water filtration system
$1960 - Elkay wall water dispenser
Food Outreach Costs
$162 provides breakfast 5 days a week for schoolchildren per month ($0.25 per person per day)
$650 provides lunch to 50 elderly individuals 5 days a week per month ($0.60 per day)
$100 provides a special lunch for 150 elderly individuals one Saturday per month.
Total: $912/month
Kitchen Repairs
$50 - Paint
$350 - Roof
$300 - Counter repairs
$170 - Water tank and plumbing
$120 - Door
$100 - Electrical: breakers and cable
Kitchen Supplies & Repairs Total: $7,828
