In Cuba:
The rate of mortality of children due to congenital malformations was of 3.8 per thousand in 1970. In 2003, this rate was of 1.9 per thousand. In 2004 of 1.7 for thousand, in 2005 of 1.5 per thousand and until July, 2006 it had been 1.3 per thousand. United States, Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Denmark, Finland, Holland have superior indexes. The province of Granma has the lowest rate of mortality of children due to congenital malformations of the country: 0.4 for thousand born alive. From all the children that were born this year with congenital malformations, forty four of them survived thanks to the intervention of cardiovascular surgery and 35 survived thanks to the intervention of surgery neonatal.

The Civic Education constitutes an essential element nowadays in the formation of the generations of Cuban. Due its importance, it is located among the priorities of the new Cuban School, joined to momentous changes in what has been denominated the Third Great Revolution. Cuba has become a great University. The whole nation has become a house of high studies with wide access for those who come from the more dissimilar origins. The growth is present all over the country with a sense of ownership that makes roots. In the island all kind of people can attend any the schools no matter the social position and all the necessary materials for the educational development are guaranteed to the students for free.

The Cuban Education treating people with handicaps

The equality of rights is present all the time without caring the race or the way of dressing. It is a true privilege. This is demonstrated so much that our children and young people with handicaps also enjoy fully all the rights that it offers to the Society, such as education service, health, social and other attendances. They can demonstrate their artistic qualities since they have the opportunity to be part of national artistic companies next to other children without handicaps offering shows of great beauty and coloring from different scenarios of theaters in the instances of counties, municipalities and nation. There are also programs in where our children are inserted and youngsters such as sports and recreation granted for their enjoyment and general integration.
Examples of them are: for deaf and mute people, that attention begins from the nursery, then in the Special School a constant attention is given until the twelfth grade and next they may enter to centers of General Education and the universities.
Nowadays there are several the educational institutions included in the Superior Education that the students that are able to overcome their deficiencies in the Special Teaching and they can continue receiving the benefits of the social programs conceived equally for everyone.
Cuba is one of the few territories in Latin America that, in spite of its economic crisis, increased in almost 50 the number of special schools and enlarged the capacities to raise the scholarship of the children with diverse types of difficulties. In 2001, the 40th anniversary of the creation of the special education was held in the Island.
At this moment, the specialized personnel that work in those institutions reaches the educational number of 14 400 teachers, among them auxiliary pedagogic, in charge of 55 thousand students with sensorial deficiencies, intellectuals, physical-motors and behavior dysfunctions.
Cuba also has more than 260 traveling teachers, attached to 509 children that cannot walk and those teachers arrive in their homes or hospitals to teach the corresponding education.
Another demonstration of the integration of the handicap people to the society is its active presence in the national and international sport competitions. Since 1983, more than 20 thousand athletes have conquered 150 medals in different world events. In the last XI Games Paralympics Sydney 2000, Cuba, with single 10 athletes, reached eight gems in total, four of gold, two of silver and two of brass.
About 17 800 handicap people are incorporated to the socially useful life in normal employments, special shops or homework. In 2001 about 1500 consented to new employments and 36 000 were benefited with the program of social attention, mainly monetary benefits and services.

Histories to tell !!!

Cuba graduates the first totally blind computer engineer

In the small island of the Caribbean in spite of the insistences of the government of the north, United States, every day the human values, the desires of living being useful to the society are developed more and more and an example of this is the first blind computer specialist’s graduation. It is impressive power of mind and the power of improvement that they can reach.

The techniques in the country for the use of people with physical limitations are the screen reader (based on sound) and the enlarging of screen (increasing the size of the image). With the connection of Cuba to Internet, for 10 years, wide possibilities were opened up in the Caribbean society for the knowledge and participation of all the popular sectors, mainly, the reinsertion of people with anyone who regrettably suffer from a handicap. (AIN)