London, 21 April 2023- Members of UK’s Cuba Solidarity Campaign (CSC) and the National Education Union (NEU), in coordination with Cuba’s education trade union, SNTECD, are finalising details to ship two 40ft shipping containers with supplies for schools on the island in the coming days.
Under the title of Viva la Educación, this new solidarity initiative has raised more than £100 000 since the appeal was launched in early 2022. These funds have made it possible to acquire supplies that are difficult for Cuba to obtain due to the arbitrary and unfair policy of economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the US more than 60 years ago.
The significant aid includes 300 computers, 140,000 notebooks, pencils and other school materials, as well as musical instruments and ballet shoes for art schools and equipment for sports centres, among other essential supplies for teaching.
Material resources such as these are essential for teachers and students and will be very well received, said Niurka González, General Secretary of the SNTECD, earlier this month at the NEU Annual Conference.
The Viva la Educación initiative is preceded by other successful experiences. These include the Play for Cuba fundraiser, which sent two 40ft shipping containers with more than 4,000 musical instruments in 2019, and the Braille Machines for Cuba appeal, which delivered more than 45 Braille machines to schools for visually impaired children.
As the last supplies were being loaded this morning, Cuban Ambassador Bárbara Montalvo thanked all the people who contributed to this effort. Also present were other members of the Cuban diplomatic mission, Bernard Regan and Rob Miller, Cuba Solidarity Campaign National Secretary and Director, respectively, and other members of the CSC Executive Committee and NEU.