From February 15 to 22, 2025, the president of the Association of Cubans living in Toronto Juan Gualberto Gómez, Julio Fonseca, visited the provinces of Granma and Holguín, together with the director of the “Together for Cuba” project.
During the visit they were able to see firsthand the negative effect of the US blockade against the Cuban people, mainly in the area of medical care. On this occasion, they took aid with medical supplies to the intensive care wards of adult and children's hospitals. In each exchange, the health personnel thanked the Cubans living in Canada and the Canadians for their solidarity.
According to Fonseca, one of the moments of greatest joy and emotion was when, on behalf of the Juan Gualberto Gómez Association of Cubans, he gave a disabled girl a laptop computer, very useful for her studies. He also informed that the Juan Gualberto Gómez Association and “Together for Cuba”, together with Canadian trade unionists, are going to launch an aid campaign for the eastern provinces, starting with Granma.
Among the main places visited included in the program were in Bayamo, the house where Carlos Manuel de Céspedes was born, the wax museum, the General Luis Ángel Milanés and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Pediatric Hospitals, the homes for children from 0 to 6 years old and from 6 to 18 years old, as well as the mother's home in that locality. While in Manzanillo, they visited the Hermanos Cordobé and Celia Sánchez Manduley pediatric hospitals, and the home for children from 6 to 18 years of age without family care.
The Juan Gualberto Gómez Association of Cubans living in Toronto has been and continues to be very active in preparing and sending as a donation a large number of containers with medical supplies to different regions of the country, and other specific aid by air, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the occurrence of regrettable events such as the explosion at the Saratoga Hotel and the fire at the Supertanker Base in Matanzas, among others.
The members of the Juan Gualberto are proud of their roots and feel solidarity with their homeland. This is evidenced by their monthly demonstrations in front of the US Consulate in Toronto to demand the end of the blockade against Cuba, their own activities on important dates for our country, their integration with Cuba solidarity groups, and their participation in activities organized by the Consulate General of Cuba in Toronto in which they defend the best values of our people.