Earlier this year, a team of ten chiropractors, three chiropractic
students, three chiropractic advocates and one chiropractic office
manager brought chiropractic care and humanitarian supplies to the
people of Cuba.
Peter Morgan, DC, founder of Mission-Chiropractic, led the five-day
mission to the communist nation at a time when new hope has emerged
among the Cuban residents. The group made new friendships and brought
home a better understanding of the plight of people on the island. It's
believed to have been the first successful major chiropractic mission
ever to visit Cuba.
From Nassau in the Bahamas, the team boarded a small, old Russian
propeller plane. We encountered turbulence for the entire hour ride and
were happy (and relieved!) to touch down in Havana, where we were
greeted by hundreds of Cuban workers wearing swine flu masks. It was
really eerie, as was going through an extensive and exceedingly thorough
customs protocol.
When we finally exited the airport, we felt as though we had stepped
back in time. Most of the cars were made in the 1950s—but they all ran
and looked as if they were brand new.
We stayed in a beautiful hotel overlooking Havana's majestic harbor. The
entrance to the harbor is guarded by a 400-year-old fort, built by the
Spanish between 1589 and 1630, to ward off attacks by pirates and enemy
fleets. In 1845, a huge lighthouse was built adjacent to the fort, which
makes the entrance to the city even more picturesque. Havana looks like
a combination of Spain, the Caribbean and Italy, with statues and
fountains gracing many of the spacious squares.
We spent the first day like typical tourists, eating at great
restaurants and even watching Cuban soldiers dressed in the uniforms of
British redcoats performing a curfew time firing of the canon, as they
did when the British captured Havana in 1762.
The following day, we set aside our tourist hats and went to work on our
chiropractic mission. We boarded a ferry that took us across the harbor
to Regla, a poorer part of the island, completely different from the
downtown tourist area of "Old Havana."
We arrived about 8 a.m. and were met by a large group of local residents
who had put on their "Sunday best" clothes for us. They had been waiting
patiently to see the chiropractors from the United States and now
jockeyed for position to get a glimpse of us. We told them the
chiropractic story and set up our adjusting rooms. We had not been
allowed to bring portable
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chiropractic tables into Cuba, but our hosts had made a number of tables
for us and set them up in several rooms of the converted church building.
The next day, part of our team was driven out to the countryside about
an hour outside Havana. We set up adjusting rooms in a small church and
attached house. Many of the Cubans living in the home had severe
disabilities. The beds were simple slabs of wood, many without a pillow
or even a cover. The floors were manufactured by the pastor in order to
make more room for the people who lived there.
When we broke for lunch or dinner we were told that honored guests eat
first, everyone else later. They had so little yet they offered it to
us! They are so generous that when one of us made a comment on how much
we liked their small, old-fashioned coffee machine, they wanted to give
it to us as a gift!
The floor of the kitchen and eating area was plain concrete but swept
and mopped perfectly clean. Life there is simple, slow. Generations have
been born on this property and shacks have been added to accommodate the
new marriages. They work hard to live; it shows on the roughness of
their feet, hands and faces, but their hearts are as warm and innocent
as children.
Speaking of children, they followed us everywhere. We felt like Pied
Pipers! Our digital cameras always caused fun, laughter and smiles as
the children transformed themselves into athletes, circus artists,
clowns and acrobats for the camera. They all posed and began doing
cartwheels and flips. They immediately wanted to see their pictures. As
we were leaving, kids ran alongside us, waving.
"What an incredible experience I had in Cuba," one of the team doctors
said to me. "It was five of the most meaningful days of my life. …We
were humbled to see many chiropractic miracles while we were there. We
saw God working through us as we taught and adjusted in Havana and
Regla, Cuba."
The Cuba trip was one of a number of humanitarian efforts by
Mission-Chiropractic, which has also brought chiropractic care to poor
communities in Central America and the Caribbean, including Guatemala,
the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. Trips to Ethiopia and Ghana are
scheduled for 2010.
To help fund the missions, Mission-Chiropractic has partnered with
Mission Life International and "7 Weeks to Wellness Ministry" to create
an evangelistic health ministry geared to generating new patients.
Source: www.mission-chiropractic.com
Chiropractic mission to Cuba a first (11 November 2009)
http://www.chiroeco.com/chiropractic/news/8780/52/Chiropractic-mission-to-Cuba-a-first/
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