Joy is the only word needed to describe the faces of the returning professionals, happy to be home and proud of what they were able to accomplish.
During the reception ceremony, Deputy Minister Cobas noted that only an altruistic person with strong values is able to leave their loved ones behind and travel to a sister country, under difficult conditions, to support a population which will never forget the gesture, as she congratulated brigade members for their contribution and also Father’s Day.
Dr. Ernesto Betancourt, head of the contingent, reported that the group had treated some 10,400 persons and performed 780 surgeries. He presented Cuban Pubic Health authorities with the distinction Ecuador’s National Assembly had granted the group expressing gratitude for the country’s rapid response to the disaster.
Dr. Jorge Fonseca, intensive therapy specialist and founder of the Henry Reeve Brigade, was happy to be home to hold his four grandchildren on his lap, but reiterated his satisfaction, having been able to help where he was most needed, recalling that the faces of Cuban doctors brought hope wherever they arrived.
Also attending the welcome ceremony were Dr. Regla Luz Angulo Pardo and other officials from Cuba’s Medical Cooperation Central Unit.
