ST. LUCIA – Saint Lucia’s Diplomatic Head of Mission in Havana, Senior Foreign Service Officer, Mr. Peter Lansiquot, says the Miracle Eye Project of the Government of the Republic of Cuba, continues to perform wonders for Saint Lucians of all walks of life.
Since the inception of Project activities for Saint Lucian patients on August 31, 2005, to date nearly 1,800 Saint Lucians have received specialized medical treatment under the Project, in a variety of areas including ptirigia, cataracts, glaucoma and strabismus.
As of Wednesday, 26 April this year, Mr. Lansiquot estimates, the Miracle Eye Project had saved Saint Lucians the massive amount of 17 million Eastern Caribbean dollars.
In his calculations to arrive at that figure, the Saint Lucian diplomat considered the costs of accommodation, meals, international transportation, local transportation (inside Havana) and surgery, all generously subsidized by the government and people of the Republic of Cuba.
Mr. Lansiquot has informed that his calculations were quite conservative, suggesting that more realistic figures including costs of medication, that were left out of the analysis, could bring the real savings for Saint Lucians under the Miracle Eye Project to date well near the 20 million dollar mark.
The Project continues to bring hundreds of Saint Lucians into Cuba every month, and on Thursday (May 11), ninety nine (99) more Saint Lucians arrived in Cuba, of that figure 4 being children.
With the continuing heavy demand for Project assistance by Saint Lucians, a second hospital, the Pasacaballo Hospital, has now been provided by the government of Cuba to care for Saint Lucian patients in the province of Cienfuegos, about 150 miles from Havana.
Saint Lucian patients in Havana are accommodated at the Marina Hemingway Hospital, located at the Hemingway Marina, named in honour of the world renowned writer, Ernest Hemingway, a historic friend of the Cuban Revolution.
These facilities are hotels that have been converted into hospitals by the government of Cuba, to provide accommodation and medical attention for patients from many countries.
All activities and inputs of the Government of Saint Lucia under the Miracle Eye Project are coordinated and managed by the Embassy of Saint Lucia in Cuba, under the direction of Head of Mission, Mr. Peter Lansiquot.
Since Mr. Lansiquot’s arrival in Cuba in February last year, and with the active assistance of the Minister of External Affairs, Honourable Petrus Compton and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Cosmos Richardson, Saint Lucia’s diplomatic representation in Cuba has been significantly upgraded.
The former Consulate of Saint Lucia has now been upgraded to a fully-fledged Embassy of Saint Lucia in Cuba, and is now located in one of Havana’s most modern and technologically efficient buildings, one floor beneath the Embassy of Japan.
