Volunteer Workday

Volunteer Workday Held Sunday
The Cuban Workers Federation (CTC) reported that more than a million people turned out for a voluntary workday held Sunday. The national effort was led by CTC general secretary Salvador Valdes Mesa.

BY SUSANA LEE - Susan.ll@granma.cip.cu -
A massively attended and productive volunteer work day was held Sunday throughout Cuba as a salute to the upcoming International Workers Day celebration on May 1. Preliminary reports estimate that 1,262,407 people took part in the effort. The main work carried out was planting and harvesting vegetables and tubers, sugarcane cultivation related activities, construction of homes and other prioritized government projects, factory work and clean up efforts.
THOUSANDS PARTICIPATED IN AGRICULTURAL WORK SUNDAY THAT INCLUDED THE PLANTING AND HARVESTING OF VEGETABLES AND TUBERS.
CTC General Secretary Salvador Valdes Mesa led the participation of the national leaders of the labor organization who were joined by staff of the Small Farmers Association (ANAP) National School at the La Iberia cooperative farm at Yaguayay in the Havana municipality of Guira de Melena. The voluntary effort there consisted of planting four hectares of malanga on land recently harvested of potatoes.
Valdes told the press that the effort Sunday was part of a national campaign of volunteer work began on April 1, which will extend through January 28, 2009, as a salute to the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution and 70th of the founding of the CTC. The goal is to boost all the programs and plans contributing to the country’s economic recovery.
The campaign involves a minimum of 70 hours of volunteer labor per worker as prioritized during the period, both on massive turnout days and others according to the needs in each locality and workplace.