Bradford company rallies around Cuba, sends supplies

Jimmy Yeo of Dilmar Roofing is filling 40-foot trailers to donate to Cuba, as the country faces supply shortages.

A Simcoe County man who normally flies to Cuba monthly to visit family is giving back to the country who needs it so much.

Jimmy Yeo’s company, Dilmar Roofing in Bradford, is hosting a collection drive to bring in supplies to the poverty-stricken country that’s been facing rapid basic supply shortages.

Yeo has been making his routine trips to Cuba since last summer, taking at least six hockey bags full of donated supplies with him each time to provide much-needed help to the country.

Cuba has been struggling with worsening conditions including fuel shortages, ongoing blackouts and a lack of basic essential supplies like food and health care.

Since the oil crisis between Cuba and the United States, Yeo and his company have been doubling down on donation collection.

“We collected enough to fill a 40-foot trailer.”

That shipment will be on its way to Cuba on March 7.

The donations have been coming in fast and furious, so much so that Yeo said he can order another large trailer to fill in the overflow from the previous shipment.

In the meantime, that overflow is currently in Yeo’s garage.

Yeo and a group of his friends, based primarily in Santa Clara, Cuba, have been back and forth between Canada and Cuba.

The group includes volunteers who work with two churches, an orphanage and several hospitals to get supplies to the ones who need it most.

“No big organizations, just kindness in action,” Yeo states in a social media post.

When the first trailer arrives in Cuba, a group comprised of Canadians and Cubans will be on hand at one of two ports in the southern part of Cuba to receive the supplies and start distributing.

The collection drive will take place on Monday. Yeo is focusing on the southern parts of Cuba including Holguin.

“Together, we are better and we can do this,” Yeo states in a Facebook post.

For those wishing to donate, the most needed supplies are canned food, clothing, feminine products, personal hygiene supplies and medical supplies.

Donations can be dropped off at Dilmar Roofing at 3 Holland Street East in Bradford.

For those who can’t get to the location, the group will travel as far as Sarnia, Kingston and Huntsville to collect supplies. All the group needs is a direct message to Yeo’s Facebook page.

Following the announcement on Feb. 9 that Canadian airlines would halt all flights in and out of the country, Yeo was in Cuba at the time. He caught the second-last flight back to Canada early last week.