Tourism workers contribute tips to health care
Campaign News | Saturday, 24 July 2004
More than $1m in the first quarter of this year
Havana, July 23 - Cubans working in the tourist industry provided record-breaking funds to the nation’s health care programs by voluntarily donating more than one million dollars during the first quarter of this year.
At an activity held to recognize their contribution, the Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC) decorated 32 workers and 27 workplaces for their altruistic donations to programs devoted to fighting cancer and promoting mother-child health care.
The campaign takes place under the slogan "My Contribution to Life." CTC Secretary General Pedro Ross emphasized the ideological nature of the donations and described them as "a triumph of solidarity over selfishness."
The effort makes possible the purchase of citostatic drugs, special radioactive isotopes used in cancer research and therapy, incubators and fans for newborns, as well as instruments and medical equipment in short supply in the country due to four decades of the US economic blockade against Cuba.
The programme began in 1993 and, to date, its donations to the country's health care programs total more than 17 million dollars. One of the programs is the National Program to Fight Cancer in Children, founded in 1987. As a result of Cuba’s efforts in the fight against the killer disease, the survival rate of cancer patients is approaching that achieved by developed nations.
Workers not only contribute with direct monetary donations, but also help by repairing and maintaining hospitals and clinics. They also donate toys for children who are hospitalized for cancer treatment and take patients on trips to recreational areas or to the beach.
http://www.radiohc.cu/homeing.htm
