ELAM students. Photo: CubaSi.
The graduation celebration of 11 young Americans from the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) was a blend of emotions, humanism, spirituality, social commitment, and energy for the challenges ahead—along with deep gratitude toward Cuba, which congratulated them, with full confidence that they will fulfill their duties upon returning to their communities: providing comprehensive healing, and solidarity-based, non-commercial medical care.
It was a celebration of brotherhood, a new stage in the project founded by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro (1926–2016) and Reverend Lucius Walker (1930–2010), founder of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO). Both were honored during the ceremony, attended by graduates, family members, professors, and representatives of institutions linked to the program.
Since its founding in 1999, ELAM has graduated over 31,200 students from 122 countries (including 244 from the US). On that occasion, Fidel Castro, its creator, stated: “More than doctors, they will be zealous guardians of what is most precious in human beings; apostles and creators of a more humane world…”
The legacy of two great men
During the event, held this Wednesday at the Casa de la Amistad, Fernando González Llort, president of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) invoked the memories of Castro and Walker, telling the graduates: “In you, in the training you have received, and in the service you will provide, lies the legacy of these two great men—without whom this project would have been impossible.”
On behalf of ICAP, he congratulated the graduates and their families, emphasizing that they had completed years of effort and sacrifice, far from their loved ones. He stressed that the knowledge and skills they acquired would prepare them for their work upon returning home.
ELAM’s rector, Yoandra Muro Valle, expressed heartfelt joy, recalling the deep friendship between Castro and Walker. She told the young doctors: “We have full confidence in everything you will do from now on. We send you off with a big hug from your professors and from every Cuban who touched your soul and heart.”
Healthcare: a right, not a commodity
Samira Addrey, IFCO’s coordinator for the ELAM medical training program and herself an ELAM graduate, opened the celebration on behalf of both institutions, calling it “a celebration of love, struggle, and solidarity.“ She highlighted the journey of the 11 graduates, “each one a bridge between communities, a fruit of solidarity, and a doctor for the world.“ The event continued with a blessing by Reverend Izett Samá of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center.
Claudia de la Cruz, IFCO’s executive director, emphasized: “More than an academic achievement, we celebrate a profound process of transformation and commitment—a choice to learn medicine not for profit but immersed in Cuba’s vibrant, resilient, and deeply humane society. At ELAM, you didn’t just study anatomy and pharmacology; you lived the revolutionary principle that healthcare is a right, not a commodity.”
72 Years of the Cuban Revolution: Critical Milestone in a Rising Global Resistance
She assured the graduates they had learned in the best possible place—”in neighborhoods burdened by a US blockade, yet where you witnessed the tenderness, determination, and creativity of the Cuban people in their struggle to resist.” She urged them: “Our hope is that you carry that determination wherever you go.”
She denounced: “The same forces harming our Black, immigrant, and working-class communities are those trying to crush Cuba’s revolutionary spirit and will.”
De la Cruz told the graduates: “You’ve learned that medicine practiced with revolutionary love, deep community roots, and a fierce commitment to justice is not just possible—it’s essential. You carry the legacy of revolutionary doctors and the profound understanding that health is a battleground in the daily fight for a more just, equitable, and socialist future.”
She concluded by calling on them to return to their communities and practice medicine “not just as a science, but as an act of deep human solidarity.”
A message from Congressman Bennie Thompson
Congressman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, sent a message to the celebration: “You are not just graduates—you are agents of change. I congratulate you. You will return to your neighborhoods, clinics, and your people. Remember: you were trained in a system that sees medicine as a moral duty.”
Of the 244 US ELAM graduates, about 100 work in public health, education, integrative medicine, research, and nonprofit sectors, while another 144 are completing residencies or are fully licensed, practicing in over 30 states.
“You studied medicine in a system that sees healing not just as science but as a vocation. You learned to serve, not where it’s convenient, but where it’s most needed,” he stressed.
During the ceremony, graduates received their diplomas and took the Hippocratic Oath—a pledge to serve with conscience, humility, and love—read by Gail Walker, who continues her father Lucius Walker’s legacy as a key leader in expanding ELAM’s scholarship program for US students.
They were also congratulated by members of the IFCO-ELAM Medical Advisory Committee, who supported them throughout their studies: Drs. Mary Louise Patterson, Maxine Orris, Rob Andrews, and Michele Frank.
