In the very heart of the city of Contramaestre, in the province of Santiago de Cuba, there is the Rayitos de sol children’s home, which belongs to the Municipal Enterprise of Commerce, Gastronomy and Services.
We talked to Yarilis Zorrilla González, its coordinator, to learn about the details of its operation.
Y. Z: This house has the objective of benefiting the working mothers of the Municipal Company of Commerce and Gastronomy, it provides care services to their children with a responsible person who is the educator teacher, pedagogical assistants of the institution Rayitos de sol. These educators have a degree in Preschool Education, I have a pedagogical assistant who is enrolled in the Early Childhood Degree and they are trained and teach them hygiene and cultural habits, they show them affection and love, they have sheets where they can offer them the development of oral expression, they can also stimulate them with children’s stories by age, they learn to relate with other children, they have role plays such as laundry, hairdressing, the little school and so the child is improving in the habits of the institution.
Q: Who is responsible for the development and construction of these teaching aids?
Y.Z: They are the educators who are in charge of each classroom, each child is taught by these educators.
Q: How many children are enrolled in this children’s house?
Y.Z: So far there are 20 children, the enrollment is 36, the rest are in process because they are not yet a year old, they begin to be incorporated in the second year of life or the ages that correspond to them.
Q: How do you value the relationship between the family, the community and the children’s home?
Y.Z: Very important, the community, also the parents, the family have contributed a lot, they contribute with materials for the benefit of their children, the cleanliness, the children’s house.
Q: Do you consider that the creation of this little house is an achievement of the Revolution and of Education, precisely in a sector such as Gastronomy and Services?
Y.Z: Yes, it is very important because they are mothers who benefit from it, they leave their children here and they are completely sure that they will be taken care of until they return from work and it is an achievement that has been reached in the Cuban Revolution.
