Cuba (MNN) — Hurricane Melissa left widespread damage across eastern Cuba, and the Church is stepping in to help.
The roar of Hurricane Melissa echoed across the island — intense winds, relentless rain, and life-threatening floods that struck two weeks ago and left devastation in their wake. Entire communities are still digging out.
Móises Pérez, director of Trans World Radio in Cuba, describes the reality on the ground.
“It is hard to imagine how those brothers and sisters right now — they don’t have food, they don’t have power, they don’t have medicines, and now many of them don’t have houses,” Pérez says.
Wonders in graffiti above a woman walking in Havana, Cuba (Photo courtesy of Emily Crawford via Unsplash)
Survivors urgently need mattresses, water, food, and roofing materials. While the government has responded, the destruction is so extensive that needs far exceed available resources. Some neighborhoods have regained electricity and communication — but not the communities that lost everything.
The local churches didn’t hesitate. Pérez explains:
“We have sent aid to the eastern side. We have sent food. We have sent clothes, medicines.”
In moments when natural disasters strike, the Church is called to respond — to stand with people whose foundations, both literal and emotional, have been shaken. When a home built through years of hard work is destroyed, many begin to question whether God is still with them.
This is where the Body of Christ steps in as His hands and feet. “In order to be a testimony for them about God’s love in times of crisis and need,” Pérez says.
The Church’s response is reminding devastated communities that God has not abandoned them!
“And they are grateful to God because in Christ, we are a family. We are one people,” Pérez adds.
Pray for families who lost everything in Hurricane Melissa, and for the Cuban Church to use its resources wisely as recovery continues.
Visit TWR to learn more about their work in the region.
Header photo: Satellite image of Cuba (courtesy of Jacques Descloitres via Wikimedia Commons).
