1.- Background
The Cathedral Day Care Center, “Sister Victoria Beneitez” room, attached to the P. Félix Varela Cultural Center, has its origins in the year 2015.
It opens the classroom as a space for play and learning aimed at needy children, from the community, with ages ranging from 4 years old.
The classroom works related to the time of the educational system in Cuba, which starts from September to June.
2.- Context
The children’s circle system in the country takes in girls and boys from families with state labor ties. If the child’s mother does not work for this sector, she does not have legal access to these educational institutions.
Since our families, in many cases, do not have a state labor background, they need spaces and/or day care centers to prepare their children as integrally as possible for the Cuban state educational system.
Given the reality that 4-year-old children do not have the possibility of attending an educational center, we can offer them an effective stimulus that complements the care and/or family attention.
3.- Benefits
Priority is given to those cases that are in a situation of social disadvantage and marked dysfunctional families such as:
Toxicomania of family members: psychic or physical illness of someone close to the child.
Housing with construction difficulties and/or overcrowding.
Low economic level and/or emotional deficiencies.
Single mothers.
Inadequate social and moral behaviors.
Alcoholic parents.
They do not pay monthly fees and the center assumes the expenses that the family cannot cover.
In spite of not having specialized personnel, the Center orients in the diagnosis, psychological, speech therapist, psychiatric attention; as well as complementary examination studies, including ophthalmology, stomatology, vaccination and summary of clinical history.
The action and orientation is not only limited to the children, but also to the relatives and their relationship.
A meeting is held every 2 months with the parents where they receive orientation related to the management of the children.
Staff working in the nursery:
| Teaching staff |
| Teacher |
| Teaching Assistant |
| Carmelite Sisters of St. Joseph |
| Psychiatrist |
| Music Teacher |
| English Teacher |
| Non-teaching staff |
| Cook |
| Cleaning Assistant |
Space:
| 1 classroom |
| dining room |
| 1 bathroom |
| living room bedroom |
| Kitchen |
| 1 park “S. John Paul II” |
Equipment and furniture
The teaching material and classroom furniture was donated by the Ross School of the State of New York in the USA, through the Amistad Foundation.
Those who work in the nursery have specific functions and complement each other, it is essential that workers do their work together to ensure the smooth running of the place.
To achieve a good preparation of the workers we have carried out different summer courses, where we have been able to gather workers from other nurseries of the Church and even private nurseries have been incorporated, in these courses not only receive new knowledge and educational techniques, but also share the experiences that each worker has according to their job and the characteristics of each school, not all nurseries have the same conditions or the same enrollment by age. It has been a beautiful experience that unites us in a GREAT EDUCATIONAL PROJECT.
The courses: (with the help of Fundación Amistad and Cáritas Habana)
| Institutions that taught the classes | Date |
| ROSS | 2016 |
| MONTESORI | 2017 |
| HARVARD | 2018 |
| INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL | 2019 |
GRADUATIONS
| Courses | Graduates |
| 2015-2016 | 29 |
| 2016-2017 | 28 |
| 2017-2018 | 22 |
| 2018-2019 | 22 |
| 2019-2020 | 21 |
| 2020-2021 ( Graduación en febrero 2022 por la pandemia) | 9 |
| 2022 | 8 |
| 2022-2023 | 24 |
Enrollment Course 2023 / 2024: 25 students
Many are those who have helped and supported our project with their efforts,
In its beginnings we started with the help of Fundación Amistad and its president Luly Duke.
And the Ross Schools of the State of New York of the USA who assumed the most general expenses of the Institution including all the furniture and study material that we have, as well as the summer courses that are given to the teachers to work on the improvement and functionality of the same, even the first course was taught in the State of New York where the foundation ran with all the expenses, we received on many occasions the help of Joseph L Scarpaci. Center for Cuban Culture + Economy, U.S.A; who has taken care of the vitamins and other needs of our children during these years, Caritas Cuba/Havana who has also accompanied us in this path during these years; Archbishopric of Havana; Airline workers such as Iberia, world2fly, and since a year ago we are receiving the valuable help of Fundación Puentes de Amistad who is the one who is assuming the main expenses of our Institution.
