On Sunday night, July 26, around 100 people gathered at the Marigold Theater in Easthampton to dance to the rhythms of the fabulous José González and Banda Criollo, eat Cuban sandwiches, drink mojitos, and raise money for the Light for Life Campaign to put solar systems on maternity homes in Cuba. The homes attend to at-risk pregnant women to stem the growing infant mortality in that country suffering for 7 months from a total fuel blockade by the United States on top of decades of a U.S. embargo that has blocked supplies of medicines and medical equipment.
Under these harsh conditions infant mortality has risen from 4.0 per 1,000 live births in 2018 to 9.9 per 1,000 today. The fuel blockade means no more than 2-3 hours a day of electricity reach these maternity homes that are trying to give round the clock care to the at-risk pregnant women. Thirty-two thousand women currently are going through pregnancy with increased risk for themselves and their babies. The Light for Life campaign sponsored by MEDICC and Massachusetts Peace Action is installing solar systems with battery backup to keep these maternity homes open and keep these women and their unborn babies safe. Tax deductible contributions go to medicc.org. More information can be found at info@masspeaceaction.org.
We want to extend our grateful thanks to the Marigold Theater and its staff and to José González and his musicians for their generosity, to volunteers Cole, Claire, Roman, Shelly and Thea for their help, and to all the public who turned out to help the women and their babies on the blockaded island of Cuba. Together we danced for the well-being of the next generation
Merriam Ansara
Easthampton