The Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa (Basque Country) gave a grant of 40,000 euros for starting up a healthy aging center in Old Havana, Cuba.
The project has a 24-month execution period and consists of the rehabilitation and adaptation for social purposes of a disused building of heritage value, the institution reported on Monday in a statement cited by EFE.
The Deputy for Culture and Cooperation, Goizane Álvarez, recalled that Gipuzkoa has collaborated for twelve years through Euskal Fondoa in projects to help the disabled and the elderly in Cuba.
The creation of day centers, residences, home care programs, and canteens are among the initiatives developed, in which the Provincial Council has participated.
The new Centre, according to the newspaper Noticias de Gipuzcoa, will form part of the Comprehensive Care Program for the elderly managed by the Humanitarian Services Unit and will have functions such as a daycare service for semi-dependent elderly people, a comprehensive day center for the elderly in Old Havana, and mainly from the Catedral People’s Council.
It will also be a reference center and will offer specialization courses, workshops, staff training, both at municipal, provincial, and national levels in topics such as risk factors for chronic diseases in aging; neurosciences and neurodegenerative diseases; food and nutrition for the elderly; functional capacity and physical condition in aging; and quality of life and social determinants of aging.
The management and administration of the Historic Center is the responsibility of the Office of the City Historian (OHCH) and, according to Tribuna de La Habana, the Catedral People’s Council has a territorial extension of 0.4 square kilometers.
