About GAD
Grupo de Apoyo a la Democracia's activities inside Cuba have resulted in
the creation of an infrastructure encompassing all fourteen Cuban
provinces and the Special Municipality of Isla de la Juventud. The
supplies are handled by
bona fide and widely recognized members of dissident groups,
NGOs, and/or ex-political prisoners. Nothing is given to any
governmental or official organization, but solely to victims of
repression for their distribution to those they consider worthy of
receiving the aid. GAD’s aid reaches dissident and human rights groups,
fraternal and religious organizations through members of the opposition,
independent professional associations such as the Colegio Medico
Independiente de Santiago de Cuba, the Colegio Medico Nacional
Independiente, the Instituto de Economistas Independientes de Cuba;
independent workers unions such as the Colegio de Pedagogos
Independientes (Independent Teachers Union), Consejo Unitario de
Trabajadores Cubanos, Central Unida de Trabajadores de Cuba,
veterans of international campaigns associated with the Circulo de
Veteranos Independientes de Cuba, and political and ex-political
prisoners and their families through the Fraternidad de Ex-Presos
Politicos de Cuba, Frente Femenino Humanitario, and the Comite Cubano de
Derechos Humanos y Reconciliacion Nacional.
Grupo de Apoyo a la Disidencia (GAD)/Support
Group to Democracy in Cuba, Inc. was established on December 10th,
1994 and incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation in March 1995 in
the State of Florida. GAD’s main objectives have been to provide
material support to the growing number of dissident groups, and
independent NGOs in Cuba, for the purpose of assisting with the
organization and development of the different levels of the emergent
civil society, a basic requirement for a peaceful and orderly transition
to democracy.
The material support given for the past seven years has been in the form
of medical supplies and equipment, food, eyeglasses, office and
electronic supplies such as speaker-phones, short-wave radios, faxes,
word processors, video cameras, tape recorders, photographic cameras,
clothing, and informational materials in the form of books, magazines,
periodicals, and videos.
More than 150,000 pounds of supplies have been successfully delivered to
the Cuban dissidence and independent NGOs since the beginning of the
program of humanitarian aid to Cuban democratic activists.
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