Hershey Foundation offers connection with Cuba
ANNETTE REIFF
Sunday, July 12, 2009Cuba is a mysterious destination. It's so close, yet it's diffi cult to reach given the federal restrictions on travel there. But, one way to see the island is by visiting under a special license issued by the U.S. Treasury Department. One such license allows travel for humanitarian projects. And that's how the M.S. Hershey Foundation is able to offer trips to Cuba.
The foundation partners with the Bringing Hope Foundation, which is licensed to travel to Cuba "to deliver humanitarian supplies to an independent charity to benefit the Cuban people."
But why does the M.S. Hershey Foundation have an interest in Cuba? In the early 1900s, Milton S. Hershey built a sugar refinery and a town in Cuba he named Central Hershey to provide his chocolate factory with sugar, which was in limited supply due to World War I. That connection is what has motivated the foundation's 10 trips to Cuba in as many years.
Click here for the rest of the story.
Note from the blogger:
If you click the link above to read the whole story, you'll find a summary of the trip's agenda/itinerary.
Does it seem to you that this is an appropriate trip agenda given travelers will be on a humanitarian license? Is medical aid the best use of such a license? Should more time be spent on this sort of activity to justify the issuing of a license? Is it appropriate for travelers on a humanitarian license from the U.S. government to participate in a policy seminar in Cuba as part of their trip's planned agenda?
Also, if you've been to (or even lived in) Hershey, Cuba, we'd love to read about your experience and what the chocolate connection the U.S. means to you (if anything). Tell us about it in the comments section of this post.
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