Grandma and Grandpa's House
In Cuba, the pension for an elderly person is $8 a month plus a 2 kg ration of rice and beans twice a month. Because housing is so limited, most elderly people live with relatives. The Cuban denomination that MEMO works with, "Los Piños Nuevos", recognized that several of their faithful retired pastors and wives were in dire straights as their spouses had died and children had immigrated leaving them with no one to care for them.
The denomination took the initiative to buy a farmhouse - a 10 minute walk from the denomination's seminary - and renovate it and staff it in order to provide a home for the aged with room for 11 residents.
Members of the local church have been hired to staff the home with live-in 24 hour shifts.
With Cuban incomes around $15/month, the denomination faced a significant struggle in keeping the home going. MEMO:Cuba was introduced to this home for the age and soon provided furnishings for the home, including a washer, fridge, TV and proper beds with adjustable railings to help with lying down and getting up.
With wheelchairs and walkers, the elderly residents can now get outside to enjoy country fresh air and sunshine. In conjunction with the EFCCM, MEMO: Cuba provides $350 of the $450 a month needed for salaries, food and operating costs of the home.
In 2005, the Cuban government declared that the home was to be closed down as only the government was allowed to run "Homes for the Aged."
A government official suggested the home be renamed to "Grandma and Grandpa's House" as there was nothing in the rules against this.
And so today, it continues as Grandma and Grandpa's house, providing a place of comfort and loving care for these forgotten elderly.