Havana, Saturday April 25, 2009. Year 13 /
Number 115
Believing in Hope
Yaima
Puig Meneses
A
CubaNews translation by Mary Murphy.
Edited by Walter Lippmann.
For many people, Villa Amistad, (Friendship Town) in Tarara, is a place
that is blessed, both by weather and by dreams. It’s a little slice of
life and hope. Situated beside the sea, about 20km east of the capital,
it make a pretty picture. But, above and beyond that, it is an
expression of our tremendous feelings of solidarity.
CHILDREN
ARE THE MAIN BENEFICIARIES OF THIS HUMANITARIAN PROGRAM. TO DATE, SIX
BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTS AND TWO KIDNEY TRANSPLANTS HAVE BEEN CARRIED
OUT.
The
complete medical care program, created by Cuba for the rehabilitation of
victims of the Chernobyl nuclear accident of April 26, 1986, has been in
place here since 1990.
A world is born
Dania Maria and Alexander were born in Cuba. They are beautiful,
healthy children and a joy to their family, above all to Vladimir, their
father. Vladimir, is a young man from the Ukraine, who loves our
country dearly. When he arrived in Cuba, at just sixteen years of age,
suffering from leukemia, his life prospects were far from promising.
Today he is over thirty and still grateful for the existence of this
humanitarian program. “What could be more important than the
satisfaction of seeing my two healthy children? And that is thanks to
this country, to its doctors, to the Cuban people, whose humanity never
fails to amaze us. ”
IN
VILLA AMISTAD THE CHILDREN ALSO HAVE A SCHOOL WITH UKRAINIAN TEACHERS,
WHICH THEY ATTEND ON A DAILY BASIS.
“We
know that the specialists make an extraordinary effort and are very
dedicated in their care for our children. We are eternally thankful to
them for this. ” says Ludmila, the mother of young Maksin, who has been
receiving treatment here for four months.
Between 700 and 800 children like Maksin arrive in Cuba every year.
These are the main beneficiaries of the humanitarian program and each
child finds a home in one of the 67 houses in Villa Amistad. Years ago,
there were about 2,000 individuals, but at present only Ukraine sends
children on a regular basis.
Over 200 people work at the centre and many of them have been here so
long they cannot imagine life without the affection of these children.
“It’s a responsibility like no other and it gives us tremendous
satisfaction to be able to bring even a little happiness to people who
are in such need of medical attention and of understanding, “ says Dr.
Xenia Laurent, who began working in the program in 1990.
Others too, such as Esteban, Julio, Viviana and Farah Maria were so
young when they began working at the centre that they have lived a large
part of their lives in Tarara, However, like recent arrivals such as
Yorsari or nurse Cristina Sandoval, they have no regrets.
Altruism abounds in this little community. There are heartrending
stories, but the youngsters here feel protected and they smile. Their
parents are trusting and grateful. “In Ukraine, society is
sometimes cruel to children with deformities, but here everything is
different. Nobody judges them or sets them apart,” says Svetlana, a
mother who is in Cuba with her daughter for the third time. They are
here to continue her daughter’s treatment for a problem relating to
growth in her extremities.
A PROGRAM OF DEEP EMOTIONS
“In our country, the Cuban attitude and the professionalism of Cuban
doctors are held in very high regard, and justifiably so, considering
the great number of patients who go home cured every year ,” says
Ukrainian doctor, Nadiezhda Guerazimenko, organiser of the program in
her country.
Many people, who don’t share our way of thinking, are still wondering
why Cuba persists with this free program, which, by next year, will have
lasted two decades, the difficult economic situation notwithstanding.
“Quite simply, we don’t give whatever we have to spare, rather we share
whatever we have,” says Dr. Julio Medina, general coordinator of the
program in Cuba. “The rehabilitation plan has a significant effect on
the health and recuperation of the children,” Dr. Medina affirms.
Since 1990, more than 24,000 people suffering the effects of radiation
have been treated. These patients come from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine,
Moldova, Armenia and other countries.
Hyperplasia, thyroid problems, gastritis, deformities, vitiligo and
alopecia are the most common conditions that present. But, along with
their medical ailments, these patients also suffer from the
psychological effects of their conditions and need constant, dedicated
care,” explains Dr. Xenia Laurenti, medical vice-director of the
rehabilitation program. ”When they arrive they are very shy and hardly
come out of the rooms at all, but then, through daily contact with our
workers and with other sick children , their attitude changes. ”
But, behind these almost twenty years, lies, not only the painstaking
and distinguished work of the health professionals, but also that of
other men and women who give themselves unstintingly to this great work
of solidarity. They too are spoken of in far-flung places.
Among these we find people like Viviana Mardina Alvarez, a waitress who
has been working in the centre for twenty years and has come to be
regarded by many as part of the family.
“We have been in Cuba three times and we have nothing but praise for the
attention Viviana has always shown us. She does everything she can to
make us feel completely at home here. ,” says Svetlana, the mother of
Anastasia, a young girl who came to Cuba for the first time in 2002.
“This is a program involving deep emotions, in which each and every one
of us, from doctor to canteen worker, plays a part in patients‘
recuperation. ,” says Esteban Gomez, director of the Villa Amistad
branch of the Revolutionary Programs Division.
There are countless reasons why nobody could remain unmoved by a visit
here. The program of medical care for the children of Chernobyl in Cuba
is a story of youngsters who get back to living their lives and dreaming
their dreams. It is one of the many worthwhile projects we share with
the world, a project in which, day after day, our men and women invite
us to believe in hope .
THE ACCIDENT
On April 26, 1986 the worst nuclear accident in the history of
mankind occurred. The explosion of reactor 4 in the Chernobyl plant
released a large quantity of radioactive particles into the atmosphere,
causing contamination over a widespread area. .
The consequences, even today, 23 years after the disaster, are painful
and traumatic for many people, particularly for those children who are
born with serious ailments and congenital illnesses.
http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2009/04/25/nacional/artic01.html
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