Cuban American Students Are Ready to Travel

With the lifting of the US to Cuba travel restrictions by President Obama, Cuban-American’s have finally been able to travel freely  to Cuba and visit their families, friends, and home towns.  This holiday season, thousands of Cuban-American’s traveled to Cuba bringing essentials that are hard to find or afford for Cubans, such as medicine, clothing, and toiletries.   Among the greatest population of travelers to Cuba this Holiday season were Cuban-American college students. 

Many Cuban-American’s have had a unique upbringing due to the ongoing struggles between the two countries that they call home.   Because one of our growing customer bases is Cuban-American students, we wanted to dedicate a post to a few different scholarships that are solely for Cuban-American students.  Here are some of the best scholarships we found.

Cuban-American Scholarship Fund: This fund gives out up to 12 scholarships a year to Cuban-American undergrad or graduate students a year.  These students are required to have at least a 3.0 GPA and have either United States citizenship or legal residency in California.  The awards tend to run anywhere from $750 to $2,000 depending on the financial and academic standing of the student begin awarded.

Cuban-American CPAs Association: As you can see by the title, this scholarship is strictly for Cuban-American students who have chosen to pursue a career in accounting.  This association is based out of Miami, and they hold a seminar late in every year to inform students of the scholarship opportunities.  Award amounts vary.

Mas Family Scholarship: This scholarship is specifically for Cuban-American undergrad or graduate students who are majoring in Engineering, Business, International Relations, Economics, Communications, and Journalism.  Awards are given based on grades, leadership qualities, the likelihood of succeeding in a chosen career, and the potential to contribute to the advancement of a free society.  Award amounts vary depending on tuition costs and other factors.

Cuban-American Bar Association: The CABA scholarship is given to exceptional Cuban-American law students, who are hand-selected by the Association which has been in existence since 1974 when it was founded by a group of 20 Cuban attorneys.  CABA also offers a highly sought-after mentor program to help ambitious young lawyers and law students.

We hope this helps! Please continue to tell you friends about Stanacard, as we have some of the lowest rates to Cuba that you can find.  At 69.99 cents per minute, we are 21 cents cheaper than Rebtel and 45 cents cheaper than Skype!  Plus, with our unmatched referral program, you and whoever you get to sign up will both receive a $10 credit on the first $10 charge. 

Prices Skyrocket as Cuba Cuts Numerous Necessities From Rations

A recent government decision produced sad news for many Cuban citizens, as subsidies such as soap, toothpaste, and detergent have been removed from their ration cards. A list released last week shows that the prices of these important items will soar because of their removal from the cards, some items increasing to prices 12 times higher than before. Toothpaste will rise from 65 cents to around 8 pesos, while detergent will jump from 3.75 to 25 pesos.

Cuba has been issuing its citizens ration cards since the early 60’s when Fidel Castro implemented the plan to try to ensure that all citizens had equal access to enough goods to survive. Because of the decline of the world economy in the past few years, Raul Castro and the Cuban government have been cutting down the items on the ration card to save money for the country. Potatoes and peas had already been cut, among other basic food items and necessities.

Because of the rise of prices in even more necessary items such as food and drink, many Cuban’s will be completely unable to pay for these cleansing items when the prices skyrocket. Famed Havana dissident Darsi Ferrer commented on these ration cuts, calling them, “draconian for a people already at the limit of their survival.” The average monthly salary in Cuba is a meager 429 pesos, which equals about $20.

The rations system is not the only system in existence in Cuba. There is a free trade market, but as we have pointed out the prices are significantly higher, so for many Cubans living in poverty, the only way to get food and other good is with the rations card.

Because of the U.S. economic blockade of Cuba that has existed for over 50 years, it is very difficult to find ways to donate to Cuba from this country, but there still are some. The IFCO runs an annual “Cuba Caravan,” which leaves every summer and brings vans packed full of goods through the US and to Cuba by way of Mexico. You can also learn more ways to donate through this Canadian-based website found here.

Buenas Noticias Para Cuba!

StanaCard has decreased their rates to Cuba.  The new rate is 69.99¢ a minute which makes our rate almost 50% lower than other companies. 

Now there is no need to wait for something important to come up to call home, you can call home anytime and for any reason.  StanaCard loves that they can participate in helping the Cuban community reach home. We hope you take advantage of this great rate.

We also have great rates to over 300 countries.  So even if you’re not calling Cuba you can still take advantage of StanaCard’s great low rates.