IFCO's CubaBuzz

Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) Pre-Meds Arrive in Cuba

On Sunday, September 8th, our Pre-Meds arrived in Cuba with our Executive Director, Gail Walker and ELAM Scholarship Program Coordinator, Samira Addrey, MD. They were received by the current students at Quarantine (sanitary control), and are now integrated into the rest of the student body as they start their studies and embark on their journeys to become doctors through the Latin American Medical School (ELAM)!

良喙 Suerte, estudiantes!

Click for more info on IFCO's ELAM Program!

Watch President Fidel Castro announce US Scholarships September 8, 2000

The September 8th arrival date of our pre-med students was quite symbolic. On that day, 24 years ago:

September 8, 2000, President Castro speaking at Riverside Church in NY, publicly offered 500 scholarships for US students from underserved communities to study medicine at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) in Cuba.

Rev. Lucius Walker, the Founder of IFCO, who shared a Friendship with President Castro accepted the challenge of recruiting the best from our underrepresented communities to study medicine on a full scholarship.

IFCO Pastors for Peace has facilitated the ELAM US scholarship ever since.

ELAM was conceived by President Fidel Castro November 15, 1999. Since 1999, IFCO has been working with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), organizing Congressional delegations to visit Cuba. It was during one of these delegations in May 2000 that Cuban medical school scholarships were first offered to US students.

IFCO Board Member, Dr. Rosemari Mealy smiles on stage while moderating during Comandante Fidel Castro's visit in Harlem September 8, 2000.

Remembering Bill Hill and Rev. Lucius Walker

This month, we remembered Reverend Lucius Walker on the 14th anniversary of his passing, September 7, 2010. A few days later, we were struck by news of the passing of Bill Hill on September 10, 2024.

Bill Hill's relationship with Lucius Walker dates back years ago when they met during the early years of the US-Cuba Friendshipment Caravans. Legend has it that Bill Hill arrived at the caravan orientation site with a truck full of bikes and bike parts that he wanted to donate to Cuba. For years he'd been teaching youngsters to repair bicycles in his home in Arizona and across the border in Mexico.

When he got to the caravan orientation site at the US/Texas border, and was asked if he'd applied to join the caravan, he said no. He was instructed that he'd have to talk to Lucius. He told Lucius he didn't have an application but he did have bike parts to donate and knew a little something about fixing old buses - of which we had plenty. Inspired by his gruff, loving tenacity, Lucius invited Bill to join the caravan and their friendship began.

When Lucius and others embarked on two historic hunger strikes to draw attention to the brutal blockade against Cuba, Bill Hill was at their side preparing the liquid drink that sustained the strikers until their demands were met.

In the more than 30 years since, Bill - a true soldier for justice - rarely missed a caravan and helped to deliver a number of young people to Cuba to begin their studies at the Latin American School of Medicine.

Bill Hill's spirit lives on in all the lives he touched!

Bill Hill Presente!

Check out the sweet moment when Bill Hill sends Lucius and caravan liquids and a "Welcome" Mat during a hunger strike to protest U.S. restrictions on bringing humanitarian aid supplies to Cuba. 1993.

Gail Walker: a commitment to continue the fight against the US blockade

Source: blockadecubanew/acn 17 September 2024

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 16 (ACN) Gail Walker, executive director of IFCO-Pastors for Peace, affirmed “it is our commitment and responsibility to continue the battle against the US blockade on Cuba, we will support it when the next UN vote against the criminal economic blockade takes place in October and for as long as it is necessary”.

She expressed this conviction at the Cuban Friendship Institute (ICAP by its Spanish acronym) hours before the end of her most recent visit to Havana, where she reiterated the support of the community organization she leads to the international movement against the cruel policy of economic asphyxiation implemented by the White House against the island for more than 60 years.

“It is our responsibility to protest when voices of hatred are heard about Cuba, we know the Cuban reality, we know the truth, we have to speak out against the lies of the haters, so we will do activities as every year in New York in the context of the UN session, we want to receive the foreign minister (Bruno Rodriguez) and other attendees from the island,” she said.

In the United States a network of solidarity with Cuba comprising some 70 organizations remains active in denouncing the damages and harsh living conditions caused by the blockade to the population, and as part of that effort IFCO-Pastors for PEACE has worked for decades inspired by the life and legacy of Reverend Lucius Walker.

His daughter Gail and her companions continue the solidarity actions “to lift the blockade and end the madness it imposes on Cuban families and also to exclude Cuba from the spurious list of countries sponsoring terrorism, to shed light on that injustice”, the tireless activist reaffirmed.

“The world needs a solid, close relationship between the United States and Cuba; it must know that the US lies and that the distortion it spreads is NOT the true story, the true story is the friendly bond between the American and Cuban people”, she assured.

The preparations for the actions in support of Cuba in presenting the report against the economic blockade imposed by the U.S. are part of the Day for Peace, against the blockade and terrorism which, sponsored by ICAP, is taking place until the day of the vote at the UN.

On this trip Gail accompanied two young people from her country who will begin their studies at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), a center from which 234 US citizens have graduated “who make tremendous contributions in the United States, as a contribution to the health of our people, all thanks to Fidel's offer and supported by Lucius, and we have made progress in this project,” she noted.

In this visit she was warmly received by the President of the Republic Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez who commented about the meeting “Pastors for Peace symbolizes the best of the aspirations of the people of Cuba and the United States. Lucius Walker's struggle for a better world continues with his daughter Gail and many friends of that organization. Among its fruits are also graduates of the Latin American School of Medicine.

 Featured Articles:

Cuban president receives U.S.

social activist Gail Walker in Havana

By Radio Habana Cuba on September 11, 2024

The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel, received the Executive Director of the U.S. organization Pastors for Peace, Gail Walker, at the Palace of the Revolution on Tuesday.

Gail explained to the president that she is accompanying 12 young people from the United States who are beginning their studies at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM). During the meeting, the U.S. social activist highlighted that the graduates studying in Cuba from her country practice a deeply humanistic medicine.

Click to Read More

Nearly 600 parliamentarians from 73 different countries call on the US to take Cuba off the “State Sponsor of Terrorism” list

By People's Dispatch on September 20, 2024

People of conscience across the world continue to put pressure on the government of the United States to remove Cuba from the “State Sponsor of Terrorism” list. This time, a group of nearly 600 parliamentarians from 73 different countries penned a joint letter condemning the continued inclusion of Cuba on the list. The letter was coordinated and published by the Progressive International (PI) on February 20. The lawmakers are calling on their respective governments to “take immediate action to advocate for [the designation’s] removal.”