According to Cáritas, the shipment consists of 1,900 hygiene and food kits, part of aid valued at three million dollars.
EFE/14ymedio, Havana, May 22, 2026 — The Catholic organization Cáritas reported this Thursday that 1,900 hygiene and food kits from a U.S. government aid shipment valued at three million dollars for victims of Hurricane Melissa arrived in Santiago de Cuba this week.
Two flights from Miami transported the donations on Tuesday the 19th and this Thursday to Santiago, where they will be distributed to vulnerable families affected by the hurricane’s passage through the eastern third of Cuba on October 29, Cáritas explained on social media.
The organization recalled that donations from this first package began arriving on January 14 and included food kits, hygiene supplies, and household items purchased and sent by Catholic Relief Services (CRS).
Cáritas clarified that, so far, 82% of this aid has been delivered
Likewise, Cáritas clarified that up to this point 82% of the assistance has been carried out, which the U.S. government stipulated must be distributed by the Catholic Church and under no circumstances by the regime.
The Catholic organization added that the remaining 18% of the assistance will be received this month and that, in total, it will benefit 8,800 families in the affected provinces: Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Bayamo, and Guantánamo.
It also announced that “at the same time, work is beginning on the management and implementation of a new donation which, valued at six million dollars, has been made by the U.S. government for the same purpose.”
As Cáritas previously explained, the beneficiaries are “single mothers with small children, older adults, people with disabilities, and people with limited or no mobility.”
The donations have included rice, beans, oil, sugar, water purification tablets, pots, kitchen utensils, blankets, and flashlights.
Hurricane Melissa crossed the eastern part of the Island on October 29 as a Category 3 storm (out of 5) on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour and rainfall of up to 400 millimeters in some parts of the country.
According to assessments by the Cuban government, the storm caused no fatalities but did cause extensive material damage to more than 116,000 homes, as well as to 600 state medical facilities, more than 2,000 schools, around 100,000 hectares of crops, and infrastructure related to transportation, telecommunications, electricity, and water supply.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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