Five university students from the Colegio Mayor Poveda in Madrid (a TA university residence) traveled to Holguín, Cuba, to learn about the projects of the Teresian Association and immerse themselves in the social reality of the island. There, they discover resilience and solidarity.
For a week, the young women collaborated in community initiatives, visited social support centers and shared with volunteers and beneficiaries, taking away an image of Cuba marked by joy and solidarity in the face of difficulties.
Cooperation that builds bridges
Valentina, one of the participants, highlighted the strength of the community spirit: “I was impressed how, despite limitations and poverty, joy, sensitivity, and teamwork prevail. There is a courage and a desire to do that contrasts with the shortcomings.”
For her part, Elena, a law student, said that this experience taught her “to listen, cooperate and be attentive to the needs of others,” values that she will apply in her professional training.
Paola, another of the university students, explained her motivation to join the trip: “At the CM Poveda there is always a social concern. When this opportunity arose, I didn't hesitate.”
María commented with emotion: “I will transmit the joy of sharing among friends, despite the differences. I leave with the certainty that a lot can be done here, and I want to motivate others to join.”
Volunteering and transformative meetings
The young women collaborated with the Diocesan Library and the Guidance and Accompaniment Center, both managed by the Teresian Association, where they supported activities with children and young people in vulnerable situations.
In addition, they visited health centers, such as the Pediatric Oncology ward of the Provincial Pediatric Hospital and the Trauma Center, where they talked with patients and doctors, discovering the impact of committed volunteering.
Dayana Naranjo, a member of the Teresian Association in Cuba, celebrated the collaboration with the Colegio Mayor Poveda: “This alliance is an opportunity to live our missionary vocation and reach out to those who, due to limitations, we cannot reach alone.”
Ailén Urbina, who accompanied the volunteers, highlighted the enriching exchange: “Both parties have learned, identified strengths and dreamed together how to transform realities.”
The five students expressed that they return to Spain with the conviction that, beyond the difficulties, solidarity and teamwork can generate significant changes. Their experience in Holguín, they said, not only broadened their social outlook, but also sowed in them the desire to continue collaborating for a more just world.
The young women also visited the Janssen Center for the Formation of the Laity and, at the end of a Eucharist presided by the bishop, Msgr. Emilio Aranguren Echeverría, they took a family photo.
Members of the TA began their collaboration with the Diocese of Holguín in 2009, with programs of formation of the laity in the field of Education, Catholic Communications and courses of Theology for the laity.
In 2015 this project became an institutional presence. The collaboration was extended to programs with health workers, a social center known as the Center for Orientation and Accompaniment (COA) and more recently, the presence in the world of culture through the management of the Diocesan Library. Both initiatives are supported by the development NGO InteRed and the Italian NGO PRO.DO. C.S.
TA Holguín.
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