Latin America fiesta benefits health in Cuba
By Lynda Hansen
BRISBANE — More than 200 people attended the Committee in Solidarity with Latin America and the Caribbean's (CISLAC) annual fiesta fundraiser on July 18.
The funds raised on the evening will go to CISLAC-sponsored projects in El Salvador and Cuba, an important aspect of the group's solidarity work in the region.
Supporters were entertained by an array of local talent including New World Order Theatre, Canto Coro choir, Mark Cronin, Kerry Woodrow and multicultural ensemble Jumping Fences. The crowd danced late into the night to Latin American music from DJ Sonido Tropicale.
CISLAC's current project in Cuba, administered through the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples, is to install a computer system for the public health department in Havana. The system will improve services by centralising patient information, essential for ongoing quality health care. Although the Cuban government has maintained a free health-care service as it highest priority, the 36-year-old illegal economic blockade of Cuba by the United States means that Cuba stills needs our solidarity to obtain basic resources.