We are a senior sponsorship program that pairs sponsors, people like you, with seniors in need in Cuba. When a senior is sponsored for $25 per month through His Hands for Cuba they receive:
His Hands for Cuba works alongside our Cuban partner, Bautista Libre de Cuba, housed at Iglesia Bautista Libre Hogar de Ancianos Pedro Gonzalez, a home for the elderly in Havana, Cuba. The home was started in 1994 by Pastor Vidal Felipe to help meet the needs of the elderly in this area and today they house nearly 30 elderly people who are in residential care along with serving those from the local community who come during the day for daycare services and other needs.
We help with financial and prayer support as well as bringing food, medical items and personal care items on 3 – 4 trips to the Hogar each year. This is all done to fulfill our goal as a ministry, which is: "to support and encourage the work of our brothers and sisters in Christ in the country of Cuba and to support the ministries of their churches, giving special emphasis to helping with their ministries to the elderly. We strive to demonstrate the love of Christ through works of service to these churches as well as to other Christian missions and missionaries in the country of Cuba as we have opportunity – to be God’s “hands and feet” and His servants to His children in Cuba."
100% of your sponsorship payment goes toward the senior and meeting these needs - none of it goes toward the administrative expenses of this program here in the United States.
Why Cuba? Why should we help?
The population of Cuba is aging and it is now considered the oldest country in the Western Hemisphere. In 2015, 19% of Cuba’s population was over age 60. It is predicted that by 2025 this percentage will rise to 25% and then double in 2050 (statistics given by the National Office of Statistics and Information). There are many reasons for this including a drop in the birth rate as well as younger Cubans leaving the country to seek opportunity elsewhere, often leaving aging parents behind.
With a decline in the number of younger people in Cuba, this leaves an aging population, many without family members to care for them. These older people have a high risk of developing debilitating health problems, both physical and mental, and will become dependent on help from others. But for those who do not have family members available to care for them, the problem of their care becomes an urgent one. There are approximately 2 million elderly people in Cuba, which has a total population of just 11 million, and only about 300 elderly day care centers and 144 nursing homes exist in the country. The total capacity of these institutions is only 20,000. So the need for care centers is critical.
History of His Hands for Cuba
His Hands for Cuba was founded in July of 2018 when a partnership was formed between His Hands Support Ministries and Iglesia Bautista Libre Hogar de Ancianos Pedro Gonzalez and Pastor Vidal who has recently retired. The newly appointed director of the Hogar is Acela Labrador Gilimas (pictured to the left). She was born of Christian parents and grew up attending the Free Will Baptist Church of La Lisa. She studied pedagogy, which is the study of teaching methods, including goals in education and the ways those goals may be achieved. She married Tomas Mejias in 1998 and since then has supported him as a pastor's wife. She has always felt a calling toward working with children and has served in that capacity for many years. She is hopeful that her experience with children will translate to the senior adults as she begins this new chapter in her life. Her husband, Tomas Enrique Mejias is the newly appointed pastor of the church, Bautista Libre de Cuba which stands firm beside the Hogar de Ancianos. Together they have two grown children. One, an electrical engineer, Miguel Angel Enriquez Labrador and the other, a medical student, Daniel Enriquez Labrador. Both sons serve in the church in music and sharing the message. His Hands Support ministries enhances the Pastor's ministry by providing him with opportunities to share the love of Jesus through his loving care and concern for the elderly people in the home as well as a growing congregation in the local community.
For more information, visit our Sponsorship page or contact us.
