Re: Operation Miracle mission to restore vision in Cuba

[flopnfly]

I saw a post on TA about the resorts in Santa Lucia closing, I checked it out and there might be some truth to her post.
 
 This is a link to the story I found about Miracle mission.    Miracle Mission  
 
 Has anybody heard anything about this?
 
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 Trip Advisor Post:
 
 The resorts in Santa Lucia will be closing and will become rehab centers for people from Vanezuela.
 Well the story goes like this... Fidel got an agreement with Vanezuelan governement to have some kind of trade (not sure what he is traiding for), since Cuba is recognized to have one of the best doctors they will treat patiens from Vanezuela in Cuba and have them stay in the hotels. I know that they named one hotel per sector, but I guess because Santa Lucia is a small town they will be closing all of them.
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[flopnfly]

Mission Miracle  
 
 Nearly 80,000 undergo eye operations under ‘Mission Miracle’
 HAVANA – Nearly 80,000 Venezuelans have undergone eye operations at Cuban hospitals this year as part of the “Mission Miracle” program, Fidel Castro said.
 
 
 The Cuban leader mentioned the figure during Monday’s official ceremony marking the creation of a medical foreign legion comprising more than 1,500 physicians trained and equipped for overseas humanitarian missions.
 He said that since January, more than 83,600 Venezuelan and Carib-bean nationals with vision problems have been treated in Cuba. The majority of the patients, 79,450, were from Venezuela, with the balance coming from various Caribbean countries.
 
 The goal of Mission Miracle, a joint initiative of Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, is restoring sight to 6 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean.
 Besides people with vision problems, thousands of Venezuelan patients suffering from all sorts of illnesses regularly travel to Cuba to receive free medical care, which represents part of Havana’s payment in kind for the oil it receives from Caracas on very favorable terms.
 
   The volume of Venezuelan medical “tourists” is so great that Cuban authorities have designated particular hotels for the exclusive use of visitors from the Andean nation. In fact, some of those lodging facilities have been converted into “hotel-hospitals.”  
 
 In addition to treating Venezuelans in Cuba, the island’s Communist regime has dispatched thousands of Cuban physicians to poor neighborhoods in Venezuela.
 Under the leadership of Chávez, a Castro friend and protégé, oil-rich Venezuela has become a key underpinning for the tottering Cuban economy, supplying the island with 90,000 barrels per day of petroleum. EFE

[sunluvr]

Interesting Heather.  When is this implementation to take place?  I wonder if they will erect new hotels for tourists in Santa Lucia or is this the end of tourism for this particular destination in Cuba?    :confused:

[flopnfly]

I heard May 1st, but I don't know how accurate that info is.
 
 I haven't been able to find anymore info.

[Beachlover]

I posted a reply on TA about this, because I know people in Santa Lucia, and I know that 2 hotels were used last year as recovery areas for people who had come to Cuba for eye surgery.
 Both Caracol and Mayanabo close during the summer months anyway, have for years.  Gran Club and Brisas usually remain open year round.
 In November I visited Santa Lucia and stayed at Gran Club.  I spent some time with a friend who works at Caracol.  He is normally without work during the summer, but this year, he was brought to the hotel to work in the dining room for the hotel workers and doctors/nurses who were tending to the patients. Of course, the workers had no choice in wether to come to work or not.  This included the entertainers who would put on small shows for the patients.
 Now, at no time did he tell me that all the hotels would be closing, but that is the rumour in Santa Lucia right now. That's what the other poster was talking about on TA.... Alot of workers are affraid that this will happen.
 
 The missions are very real, and the possibility of more hotel closures is also real, because if you google the "miracle missions" you'll find many posts about Fidel and Chavez approaching other nations and inviting them to come to Cuba for surgery.  I've just read about St-Kitts and Nevis.  
 Now, I was at Caracol in january, and there have been renovations recently, they are adding more palapas on the beach, and building a new restaurant. They have also built a new beach bar. In November, you could walk on the beach, but there were guards and you couldn't get close to the hotel.  All beach chairs had been removed.  
 It's anyone's guess right now what the next step will be, however, the missions do exist,and appear to be continuing full force.  Cuban doctors, nurses  and teachers and currently in Venezuela participating in the Mission Milagro.
 
 I'll be in Santa Lucia again later this year, and I'm sure I'll find out more then.
 
 Cheers,
 Beachlover

[flopnfly]

thanks Beachlover,
 
 if you find out anymore please let us know.

[Steve_YYZ]

Here's some more info on what hotels are being used for Medical Missions (as of January 19, 2006)
 
 Operation Miracle
 
 Havana, 23 Dec. 2005 (from Agencia de Información Nacional)
 
 Operation Miracle - Operación Milagro  
 Miracle Operation: A Major Solidarity and Medical Success in 2005
 
 The Cuban eye-surgery program known as "Operación Milagro" or Operation Miracle, which is treating 208,000 patients from 21 countries, is one of the major successes for Cuban solidarity with Latin America and the Caribbean in 2005.
 
 "How much would that cost? How much does it cost to return the sight to thousands of people?" Fidel Castro asked the Cuban parliamentarians on 22rd December 2005. He asserted that no riches can be compared to the happiness of those who get their sight back after having lost it due to cataracts, glaucoma, diabetes and other diseases.
 
 Fidel explained that the number of eye surgeries administered on Cubans increased to 35,000 in 2005, from 18,000 in 2003, as a direct result of Operation Miracle.
 
 The medical program was officially launched in 2004 by assisting Venezuelan patients, though last August it was expanded following a meeting between Presidents Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.
 
 Some 172,306 patients had undergone eye-surgery up to December 16 and that includes patients from Panama, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay and other Latin American and Caribbean nations.
 
 Many of Cuba's hotels are now dedicated to accommodate patients and medical teams to support this programme. These hotels are thus currently (19th January 2006) unavailable for regular tourism:
 
 Islazul Hotels:
 Panamerican Villa
 Pasacaballo Hotel
 Camaguey Hotel
 Guantanamo Hotel
 Guacanayabo Hotel
 Gran Piedra Hotel
 Mar Del Sur Hotel
 Costa Morena Hotel
 Balcon del Caribe Hotel
 
 Cubanacan Hotels:
 Marina Hemingway Hotel
 Tarara Villa
 Bellocaribe Hotel
 Copacabana Hotel
 Megano Villa
 Playa Larga y Guama Hotel
 Playa Giron Hotel
 Versalles Hotel
 Carrusel Sierra Maestra Hotel
 La Pradera Hotel
 Mariposa Hotel
 
 Gran Caribe Hotels:
 Neptuno-Triton Hotel
 Club Bucanero Hotel

[bellagio]

That truly is an incredile record.
 
 You cannot help but praise whoever implemented this whether it be Fidel himself or not.
 
 It is something the country should rightly be proud of, if true.

[gromstrela999]

The commandante is not doing this because he has a big heart and a he is a nice guy, he get paid for these operations, he gets paid in oil by his buddy Chavez.

[flopnfly]

Of course there has to be some fair trade in this for everyone, but it is still a great program.
 
 Restoring someones eye sight has to be the greatest gift of all.