Sanctuary of Hope’s (SOH) Destinations program recently took a delegation to Cuba for an educational and humanitarian trip. The 18-person delegation comprised of system-impacted young people, staff, and board members engaged in a week of exploring the healthcare, social services, arts and culture sectors in Cuba, and the impact of the historic and horrific United States blockade.
Centering community resilience, the delegation’s education and humanitarian projects focused on two critical needs, medical and office supplies. In partnership with the non-profit, Not Just Tourists, the SOH delegation brought 12 suitcases filled with 30 pounds each of essential medical supplies for distribution to local hospitals and clinics. Additionally, the delegation collected and delivered two duffle bags filled with stationary supplies to Presna Latina, the Cuban news agency.
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“SOH’s Destinations program is about exposing young people to the world and understanding their role as global citizens,” said Janet Denise Kelly, founder and executive director of SOH. “We want young people to think critically about intersectionality and interconnectivity and contribute to solutions in their communities and abroad related to what they’ve learned through these cultural exchanges about health and food access, education and literacy, and community resilience.”
These goals resonated with Emory Hooks, an SOH housing services recipient. “Cuba had a life-changing and mind-expanding impact on my outlook on life. I’ve come to better understand the importance of overcoming language barriers, the fight for language equity, and support of the Cuban people.”
The delegation participated in a six-month preparation curriculum curated by Rev. Kelvin Sauls. The curriculum consisted of a Netflix docu-series “Cuba Libre” and the book “Oshun’s Calabash: Dancing Across Cuba into the Memory of the Embodies African Soul and Finding Home” by Dr. Iya Alisa Osunfunke Orduña.
Three teach-in sessions with Dr. Bita Amani from Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, Dr. Rosemary Mealy, author, educator, and Board Member of the Interreligious Federation for Community Organizing (IFCO)/Pastor for Peace, and Dr. Orduña complimented the materials explored. In collaboration with their travel agent, Juanita Palacios-Sims of Beyond Cuba Travel, SOH also hosted a Community Dialogue with a delegation from the Cuban Embassy.
“Utilizing a popular education model, the SOH Destinations program is a unique immersive leadership development experience that invites young people to intentionally bridge with people in a particular place, examine how their pain paved a path to renewed power and purpose for bold and equitable belonging in the world,” says Rev. Sauls, curator and facilitator. This is his third immersive experience with SOH. In previous experiences, young people bridged with people in Southern Africa, and the US south to examine the civil and human rights movement.
“As a Board Member of IFCO/Pastors for Peace, I was excited to accompany this multi-generational delegation on yet another exhilarating exchange into a deeper understanding of global solidarity, mutuality and intersectionality toward equitable and normalized relations between Cuba and the US, starting with ending the unlawful, unfair, and unjust blockade,” Sauls stated.
Cultural experiences included a city tour in antique cars, visits to historical sites such as Hotel Nacional, Old Havana and Revolution Square, and an engagement with Habana Compas Dance. Educational encounters included trips to the Indians Caves in Viñales, the Martin Luther King/Malcom X Park, and the recently opened Fidel Castro Center. Lessons in environmental conservation and sustainable community development took place during a visit to Las Terrazas, a biosphere reserve.
“To know the Cuban people is to know how solidarity and strength continue to prevail in a country embellished with culture and antiquity,” expressed Aaminah Parker, an SOH housing services recipient and recent graduate of Cal-State Dominguez Hills.
Conversations with cultural and religious leaders, and medical students from the US were enriching. In the Marianao district, the delegation had a powerful dialogue with Rev. Idael Montero Pacheco, the current pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church and director of the Martin Luther King Center.
Topics included the role of religion, and impact of racism in Cuban society. The American medical students at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), of whom three recently graduated, shared perspectives about Cuba’s health care system and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Cuba was a wonderful experience that opened my eyes to a different way of living communally,” said Sharron Hillery, SOH Board Chair.
Given its many historical complexities, contemporary complications, and devasting impact of the US blockade, the entire delegation embraced the opportunity to grapple with these issues and explore their contribution to advancing just and normalized relations between the US and Cuba. The delegation was inspired by the ongoing resistance, resilience and reimagination of Cuban people, who they endearingly call, “our Cuban kinfolk.”
Delegates will prepare various community report-back events for late-August and mid-September.
