Even if education in Cuba is free, the country suffers from a lack of essential goods. The reasons are the American embargo and the decrease in tourism during the pandemic. Through Children’s Donation Project donors from Slovakia help children in need by contributing school supplies, backpacks, and books. The school year works similarly to the one in Slovakia. It starts at the beginning of fall and ends in the summer. Children start school at the age of six and they should complete nine years of compulsory education.

Children from six months to six years old attend kindergarten or stay home. Elementary school lasts six years and has two levels. The first four years are spent in the first level and the fifth and sixth years in the second level. The majority of the time during the lessons are devoted to learning Spanish (reading, writing, and speaking) and mathematics.  In addition, children also have visual and physical education, technical and cultivation work, and other subjects.

Elementray school is followed by high school. The first three years of high school are compulsory. That is our 7th and 9th grades. Students must attend five weeks internship, during which they collect coffee in the countryside. This is similar to our potato digging. When children finish their nine years of compulsory education, they may continue studying in high school for another three years. If a student decides on a business or technical course, he studies for two years, for example, the profession of a bricklayer. If a student continues with the preparation for his university studies, he studies for three years, and his education ends with leaving the exam.  

After finishing high school and passing the leaving exams, students may continue their studies at the university which takes four to six years. For example, it takes five years to become a teacher, and six years to become a doctor, it is very similar to our system. University studies are divided into three levels (bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees)

The school year 2021/2022 is different

This year summer holidays are a little shorter than usual, as children missed a lot of classes due to the pandemic. Teaching was carried out via television broadcasting, but this did not work very well. Many families do not have a television or electricity at home. The holidays therefore only started on 21 July. The school year 2021 / 2022 will continue from 5 September and will end on 31 October. This will be followed by a week of holidays and the new school year 2022 / 2023 will not start until November.

In the name of pre-scholar Diego, first graders Helen and Reinara and ninth grader Geydis, as well as all the adopted children that are part of our project, we would like to express our gratitude to all the donors for their help and support. Thanks to you, children may continue with their studies and successfully finish a school year. If you are interested in supporting a child from Kuba, you will find an application here.

In the implementation of the Children’s Donation Project in Cuba, we thank the Conference of Bishops of Slovakia (KBS) for its significant financial support, spiritual encouragement, and prayers.