Biggest group of graduates returns from Cuba
For several decades we have seen a steady stream of Belizean students head off to Cuba for courses of professional study that are known to be long and rigorous. Now, in ever increasing numbers, these scholars are returning home. Today, the latest batch of graduates were honoured for their achievements.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
During brief ceremonies at the House of Culture this afternoon, twelve Belizeans were recognized for their completion of various educational courses in Cuba. In addition to the doctors and nurses, these young men and women are now qualified veterinary scientists, agronomists, and civil engineers.
Perlita Aldana, Medical Student
“Being a medical doctor, I have always wanted to be a medical doctor and another thing I will be giving something back to my country, to my people. And coming back from Cuba, I’ll also be bringing up Cuba’s name in Belize and everywhere else wherever we go because they have given us the privilege to study in their country.”
Clifford Martinez, Agronomist
“The greatest achievement for me is not just coming back from Cuba with the degree; the greatest achievement for me is coming up to my mom and my father and saying, you know what I have been there six years I was able to able to undertake the different circumstances, the difficulties, with the limited finances that I received from my parents and government, I was still able to get through. I got more than what I needed.”
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
“It’s a very good programme. It’s focussed on rural healthcare, trying to ensure that we have healthcare providers in our most remote communities. That is the emphasis of the Cuban government and it’s one that we share.”
“The programme in Cuba is a very unique programme; it really develops in our students a real appreciation for the poor, for the underdeveloped areas of our country. So these students are very, very passionate about their work, committed to Belize and we are ready to get them going.”
Formal diplomatic relations with Cuba were established in 1996, but the island state has been giving scholarships to Belizeans since the 1970s. But in all that time, not all the kinks have not been worked out, as today the new Belizean doctors are unable to practice in their homeland without a license from the Belize Medical Council; a license that is not always easy to obtain.
Francis Fonseca
“What is still not clear, and I share the frustration of the students, is exactly what those terms and conditions are. I think if the Medical Council is going to impose terms and conditions, these students have to know very clearly what those terms and conditions are before they can get their license and they need to know the terms and conditions under which they will undertake any internship programme that the Medical Council or the Ministry of Health develops. I think it’s all in a spirit of good faith; everybody wants to do the right thing, [making sure] that the students are placed in appropriate positions where they can best be utilised. But I think on their part the Council has to do a better job and the Ministry of Health I would say has to do a better job of communicating with the students so that they don’t have any uncertainty.”
These students represent the largest number of doctors to graduate from the Belize/Cuba programme…twelve in this year alone. According to officials, with seventy-nine other Belizeans studying medicine in various Cuban institutions, that output is expected to become the norm.
Eugenio Martinez, Cuban Ambassador to Belize
“We never stopped the cooperation in this area, to create human capital, even though we experience some difficult times in Cuba due to the lack cooperation of some countries with Cuba. But keep working on this and Belize is one of the countries that we offer this. The Government of Belize has supported this programme since the very beginning.”
“Cuba is planning to offer by next year all the amount of the medicine scholarships that Belize will request. So we are putting together some new schools together in Cuba for that reason.”
Six of the medical doctors will be returning to Cuba in November to participate in specialisation courses. It is estimated that more than eleven thousand students from all over the world are presently studying medicine in Cuba. According to Ambassador Eugenio Martinez, there are presently one hundred and eleven Cuban doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers working in Belize.
