The container of beans you saw in this video was 20ft long and held 47,500 lbs of beans. With that amount, roughly 330,000 meals could be produced. Our aim is to provide much-needed food to as many people as possible. While it’s difficult to give an exact number of how many people received beans, our team’s network in Cuba distributed them to multiple thousands of people.

Shipping costs to send a 20ft container of beans from Canada to Cuba were just over  $12,000 CAD. Then there are the costs of gas in Cuba to ship them around, a fair wage for the workers to feed their families, and of course the cost of the beans themselves. All together things added up to $32,000. This amount also allowed for surprises along the way – Cuba is full of surprises.

Once the container was filled with the product and was loaded onto the ship, it only took 15 days to get from Canada to the Havana port in Cuba. The longest variable in the process was raising the funds.

At the time the beans were shipped, market prices valued that amount of beans to be $16,500.

The prices may vary depending on the change of prices throughout the year, but using the numbers that were present during the time of this video, $20 would provide one 5lb bag of beans for someone. This includes shipping. This would last a family of 3-7 people roughly one month.

The answer is complicated. One might think sending a container of tools could help, but then there are still the issues of gas, fumigation, and logistics to contend with. Even if the tools helped cultivate the land, there would still be the challenge of incredibly expensive fumigation. Additionally, there is a lack of access to irrigation systems and seeds for planting. If machinery were sent, there would be no gas to fuel it. Moreover, the workforce has dramatically reduced after the mass exodus (approximately 400,000 Cubans) in the last two years, leaving fewer young and skilled workers to cultivate the land. Currently, the most viable solutions seem to be sending food aid or witnessing a complete political and economic overhaul. And, of course, praying for a transformation in the hearts of people.

95% of all donations go directly to ministry. With each donation, 5% is put into a “Ministry Pool” that provides funds for new ministry opportunities or other outreach needs that do not have assigned funds, and only 5% goes to CEO Admin costs to keep the organization running. All staff works from home (including our founder), zero funds go to renting buildings, and our staff is either supported by designated donations or has side jobs. 

Yes! There are 3 specific ways: Time, Talent, and Treasure. Aside from your donations, you can volunteer by coming on a mission trip, joining a local ministry team, or becoming a prayer partner. Click the button below for more info.

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