LUTZ, Fla. — Two Tampa Bay area organizations are stepping up efforts to help people in Cuba as the island continues to face power outages, a major food crisis and shortages of medicine and clean water.
CubaMinistry.org and The Hands and Feet of Christ Jesus are among the local groups partnering with churches in Cuba to deliver aid to some of the island's most vulnerable residents.
WATCH: Tampa Bay organizations send solar panels, food and medicine to Cuba amid ongoing crisis
Lynn Bordelon, a district coordinator for CubaMinistry.org, said the situation has been difficult to witness over time.
"It is very heartbreaking to know and to see over the years how things have changed," Bordelon said.
Steven Wissinger founded Hands and Feet of Christ Jesus in 2020 to help children and the elderly in Cuba. He is currently in the process of sending solar panels to a Cuban church.
"That will generate enough power to run a refrigerator constantly. So you think about that, they don't have to worry about when they can find foods that need to be refrigerated," Wissinger said.
Wissinger said he has raised about $2,500 for his next trip on Aug. 22, where he plans to feed children in Cuba by sourcing food locally.
"$2,500 will feed 1,200 to 1,300 children, and it's something that does go a long way," Wissinger said.
Food insecurity is a constant reality for the children he serves, Wissinger said.
"I know that we talk and deal and hear about people with food insecurity all the time. I mean, it is a daily reality for these kids," Wissinger said.
CubaMinistry.org is a nearly 30-year-old organization that has partnered with hundreds of churches across Cuba through Iglesia Metodista De Cuba (IMECU), which means Methodist Church of Cuba.
Sam Martinez, Guantanamo district coordinator and chair of CubaMinistry.org, said churches are some of the only places people gather that are not owned or controlled by the state, making them community hubs. His organization helps connect local churches with those in Cuba to establish a sister-church relationship.
"It's been one of the most successful collaborations, international collaborations of churches here in Florida to churches anywhere in the world," Martinez said.
CubaMinistry.org helps support pastors, send medicine and improve water systems on the island. Martinez said clean water is a serious concern.
"The water in Cuba is very, very dirty, and so there's a lot of sickness around that," Martinez said.
In the last five years, several tons of medications have been sent to IMECU's medical commissions for free distribution, Martinez said.
"Thousands of people are still with us because of the medications that we've been able to send to the professionals down there," Martinez said.
CubaMinistry.org is planning a mission trip for January. For more information, click here.
For more information on The Hands and Feet of Christ Jesus, click here.
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