Remembering the figure of Fidel, a few days before his 97th birthday on August 13, Fundora said that he was elected director of the institution at the request of current President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who at that time was serving as First Secretary of the Party in Villa Clara.

“This center was remodeled where formerly existed the School of Trainers to work in kindergardens and it required total dedication and devotion. As the inauguration date was approaching, we were told that Commander in Chief Fidel Castro, who had already inaugurated the School of Social Workers in Havana, was going to participate in the ceremony,” he said.

Fundora recalled that it was October 16, 2001, at approximately five o’clock in the afternoon, when Fidel arrived with a group of comrades at the school to officially inaugurate it.

We received him on the steps of the entrance together with Miguel Díaz-Canel and Wilfredo Pérez, top leaders of the Communist Party and the Young Communist League, respectively. During the meeting, he met with all the factors of the political and mass organizations of our territory and with part of the leadership of the center.

We talked about the importance of the school. He asked us if we were prepared to face the emerging course and what criteria we had about it. We told him that we had all the conditions created in terms of classrooms, computer labs, shelters and other internal facilities, he recalled.

Fundora, currently a member of the management team of the Marta Abreu Central University of Las Villas, pointed out that after making some decisions and clarifications, Fidel Castro went to speak to the people and to the newly enrolled students of that center.

He gave some transforming ideas and proposed a one-year course for social workers. That was an immense commitment, because the study plans had to be adjusted and from that point on, he pointed out.

At the end of 2003, the decision was made by Fidel Castro himself to give the same training to students from Venezuela after an agreement with then President Hugo Chávez. This new task turned out to be very stimulating and supportive, he pointed out.

Fundora has managed to overcome the years well. In a dialogue with Prensa Latina, he also recalls another anecdote that took place in 2004 at the Havana Convention Palace with the Commander in Chief.

“It was an extraordinary meeting where I was given the Special Education Award. When I was named, those present began to applaud and Fidel asked me why the crowd was so loud. I answered that they had a lot of affinity with me,” he concluded.

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