CAMAGÜEY.- Yanaris is in sixth grade. Two years ago, the PE teacher at the Pepito Mendoza elementary school aroused her desire for sports; her main wish is to participate in a Judo competition. Her naturalness hides a difficult past that changed since her arrival at the home for children without family protection in La Zambrana, where she, along with her twin sister and nine other soul brothers, share the love for the family they formed there.

Camagüey has three homes for children without family protection between the ages of 7 and 18, two in the provincial capital and one in Florida, which only includes the other municipalities. Currently, 24 inmates live between the three houses; meanwhile, those under 7 years of age reside in the Manuel Zabalo daycare center. The centers care for orphaned children, abandoned children, in a complex social situation, whose parents have lost parental authority, are serving a criminal sanction, are psychiatric or alcoholic patients. According to Mabel Álvarez Bernal, Head of the Department of Special Education in the Provincial Directorate of Education, monitoring of households is multi-sectorial through a comprehensive care plan involving the Party, the Government, the FMC, the CDRs, the UJC, the OPJM, Culture and the Inder.

 

COUNTRY GUARANTEES

Every fortnight, in a care system, the needs and problems of households are assessed to provide a solution. Each residence is sponsored by cooperatives that regularly provide food, fruits and vegetables. It is the responsibility of the State in conjunction with the Labor Organism to deliver a home with the essential conditions when the beneficiaries reach the age of majority and leave the home.

In the same way, they have the guarantee of a monetary benefit until they enter working life. "There are cases with intellectual disabilities who cannot work and are assigned a caregiver and financial assistance for life," says Álvarez Bernal. Minors are entitled to a stipend according to age to take care of their personal needs. From 7 to 14 years old they receive 400 pesos and 720 between 14 and 18. Annually they are assigned an amount of 3,500 pesos for purchases in stores of the Cimex or Caribe chains.

In an agreement between Education and Health, the houses have psychiatrists who provide fortnightly consultations due to disorders or pathologies associated with their condition, and control medical records because several take psychoactive drugs. Psychologists and psycho-pedagogues from the Guidance Center also interact to evaluate the children, and the personnel who work there are also trained to deal with them, in conjunction with Special Education. Much of the aid in terms of clothing, footwear, and cleaning products comes through donations sponsored by mass organizations; and of the seizures of the Comprehensive Supervision Directorate, after the pertinent reviews.

FIND A FAMILY

The homes for children without family protection in the municipality of Camagüey are located in La Zambrana and Plaza Habana. Despite constituting educational institutions, they are homes where children come to find a family; there the day to day passes as in any house.

They take classes in nearby schools and when they finish, the twins and Brayan, from La Zambrana, train in judo and water polo. Samantha, 13 years old, tells us about her two mothers (director and deputy director) and her aunts (assistants for educational work, the cooks and the nurse), who are a fundamental part of her life and support her training from love and the affection. Meanwhile, in the other house, Erlinda helps the little ones with their homework, hence her vocation to study Law. “

 

Sometimes we fight over nonsense, but it's normal between brothers." In Plaza Habana, Abraham welcomes us with a ball in his hands. At 8 years old, his love for sports, especially baseball, is evident. Although he wants to be a police officer when he grows up, he already thinks about how to divide the time between his two passions. The deputy director at La Zambrana or mama Odalys, as she is affectionately called, answers our questions while she attends to homework, bathroom and meal times. "This is everyday life here, a lot of pampering from us."

On weekends the dynamic changes. Instructors from the Palace of the Pioneers, as well as sports and culture teachers, carry out recreational exchanges to animate on Saturdays and Sundays, with the desire not only to entertain, but also to promote healthy living in children.

“Some days we go out to the parks and on vacation they take us to the beach,” says Samantha. At the age of 19, Yairennis awaits the delivery of her house, and still lives in the Home; she performs internships as part of her Accounting studies. “She is my right hand, she helps maintain cleanliness, with kitchen chores, and in the morning she combs her sisters for school,” Margarita Díaz, director at Plaza Habana, tells us. The memory of her fifteen years was engraved in her memory.

"They gave me two photo contracts, one at the Wedding Palace and the other at a private home, in addition to the party they organized for me." Similarly, Mama Odalys tells us about a more recent celebration. “We had a fifteen birthday celebration recently. The Historian's Office and the Fund of Cultural Assets were wonderful.”

The twins will continue training, hoping to one day compete. That hope was planted by the family they found in La Zambrana. The routine will remain the same, the walls may deteriorate and rise again, new faces will have a difficult first day, goodbye will come for those who are now, but the work of educating with love will remain intact.