With the impact of COVID-19 in association with the tightening of the U.S. blockade on Cuba, it became more pressing to support vulnerable people, an endeavor in which Fidel Castro left indelible marks.
By Roberto Morejón
With the impact of COVID-19 in association with the tightening of the U.S. blockade on Cuba, it became more pressing to support vulnerable people, an endeavor in which Fidel Castro left indelible marks.
During the health crisis caused by the pandemic and the forced confinement, it became essential to reinforce assistance to individuals in the most disadvantaged environments from the financial, family or labor point of view.
Thousands of young people and workers whose companies were affected by the SARS-Cov-2 virus were particularly hard hit.
Together with them, social workers worked tirelessly in the communities, a function strengthened by the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro.
Physically disappeared in 2016, the author of the plea on his defense after the assault on the Moncada barracks, had a marked impact on the social evolution of the country before and after the popular triumph of 1959.
Known for acting as a tenacious defender of science and health, Fidel Castro also stood out for his support to humble people and sectors as soon as he graduated as Doctor in Civil Law and Bachelor in Diplomatic Law in 1950.
Half a century later, as a statesman, the guide of the insurrection against the Batista dictatorship had the initiative to promote the Social Workers Program.
Made up of professionals and activists working in various areas of national life, this group began to work with individuals, groups and communities to prevent and transform even critical situations.
It is true that this project has gone through different situations and that in many cases the country has NOT had the material resources to cover all the individual and group expectations of improvement in the standard of living.
But the ennobling purpose persists, as was evidenced during the pandemic.
It is now taking on new vigors in the government's plans to mitigate accumulated problems in vulnerable neighborhoods, starting with Havana.
Social workers should be inspired by Fidel Castro's humanistic thinking when they exercise their functions to help individuals with wandering behaviors, single mothers, lonely elderly, former prisoners and families with modest monetary incomes.
