Working in partnership with Community Outreach Patient Empowerment (COPE) of Gallup, New Mexico, the trip program was designed with the ultimate goal of facilitating an open dialogue in which participants could identify models from the island nation’s health system which could be applied in their home community.

Over the course of the weeklong educational exchange, sponsored and hosted by MEDICC, travelers observed and experienced the Cuban healthcare system in a variety of ways: learning about programs supporting young and elderly demographics, visiting community engagement projects and centers, and engaging Cubans on the use of spirituality and herbal medicines in health care.

Highlights of the trip included a visit to Muraleando, a community arts project in which trash is transformed into art; a tour of backyard gardens in Cohimar; and a group exchange at Proyecto El Cachón, a project for environmental awareness in children and adolescents. According to Appelbaum, it was through visits and exchanges such as these that the Navajo Nation group was able to observe and keenly appreciate the strength of cultural identity and resilience that play such an important part of the Cuban approach to health care and well-being.

“Because of the receptivity of the group, and because the sites and Cuban speakers were really great, they were so well positioned to connect,” Appelbaum noted. “There was a simultaneous appreciation of [the Cuban] culture” that, combined with their own cultural pride and philosophy of self-reliance, really energized the Navajo Nation group to start finding specific ways to engage their community and children back home.

In a recent article in the Navajo-Hopi Observer, Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez summarized the trip:

“’The most gratifying part of the exchange came from direct contact with Cubans and hearing their perspectives on caring for their land and one another,’ he said.

‘Don’t forget we’re in this together. Thank you to MEDICC and COPE for their commitment to the health of the Navajo Nation and for the financial support for the Cuban cultural exchange.’” (Vice President Nez visits Cuba, observes health care system, March 9, 2016)

According to Appelbaum, the group is already building upon the ideas gained during their initial visit. A subsequent visit to Cuba is scheduled for the group this September.

Learn more about MEDICC and the CPHE program on our website.