Studying Medicine in Cuba: a dream Fidel made possible

 

CIENFUEGOS, Cuba, Aug 13 (ACN) Doctors Manuel Cardoso Luis, Isildo Povelina Alberto and Mara Krisnayana de Jesús Brás, recent graduates of the University of Medical Sciences of the province Cienfuegos (UCM), hold that studying in Cuba was possible thanks to Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.

The three graduates, who will soon return to Angola, thanked the Cuban people and their historic leader for giving them the opportunity to become professionals and better human beings.

Cardoso Luis, who during his school years was a member of the Board of Nations of the UCM, said that before coming to Cuba he had learned a little about Fidel from his father but it was here where he confirmed the greatness of the revolutionary leader.

“I am a living proof of the great friendship between both countries. I was 22 when I came and I am leaving as an organized man, as befits any professional, and learned the true meaning of solidarity and humanism,” he admits. “As a child I visited hospitals in my Luanda (…) and noticed that something was missing in patient care, so I decided to be a doctor to help people.

“Holding someone's life in your hands is a great responsibility. The Cuban health system is based on prevention first and treatment later (…) an amazing method that I would like to socialize.

The case of Dr. Povelina Alberto was somewhat different. He wanted to be an engineer, but one day he was granted a scholarship to come to Cuba for academic training and chose Medical Science, a benchmark field in Cuba.

“First I went to the Latin American Medical School, founded by Fidel Castro, where there were students from almost all countries. In Cienfuegos I made many friends, so the idea of leaving saddens me a little,” he remarked. “They have programs that I would like to take to Angola to treat, for example, sedentary lifestyles, to improve the quality of life of the elderly.”

On her end, Dr. Mara Krisnayana de Jesús Brás stressed that she knew about Commander Fidel, "but had no idea of the extent of his work, so when I met Cuba it was love at first sight: everyone is kind, supportive and attentive, be they teachers, staff or students, and the people here.”

While in the city of Cienfuegos, they kept close with the local office of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples and joined its activities, including Torch Marches, May Day parades, International Women's Day rallies, and the celebrations of Africa Day and for the liberation of Angola.

Manuel, Isildo and Mara return to Luanda after seven years, taking with them both new knowledge and the certainty of having received quality training in a field that bears Fidel's stamp.