We have received a lot of donations through several calls, partly from you, but a colleague at work also had very good contacts here. We sent some of the donations to Cuba by post in advance, we took most of them with us and a few will be sent to Cuba later.

The donations which sent in advance were given to Yeinier’s mother who was able to hand them out in a special way. The donations which we took with us were handed out among the families and the players of “Las Estrellas”.

Among the items I also had a lot of reading glasses which were very appreciated. Luisito, Yeinier’s father, now is able to read the very small letters and Leo, our taxi driver, also received good sunglasses. All these things help very much and actually it is much more helpful to give the Cubans a pack of 10 paracetamol than one or two euros because they can’t buy the medication or only with connections.

Of course, the other things such as toothpaste, sun cream or soap helped. When Luisito came to our hotel, I always had sweets for the children. There were apples in the hotel and I gave him beer from the minibar because we had all-inclusive and could get something to drink at the bar at any time.

When visiting the family, we must not forget the sweets. You can imagine how their eyes were shining when the Milka was given to them. But it was always shared between the family, as mother, grandmother and grandfather were also delighted to receive a piece of chocolate.

However, the fact that there was now electricity for a few hours every day was really bad. Fortunately, they were able to help themselves with gas and electricity for the lights was quickly taken from the electric scooter. The Cubans are very innovative.

However, what made me think once again how to help the families with electricity was Luisitos’s wish: we should send him a battery-powered fan.

In the near future, the family will help themselves with a battery that is charged when there is electricity and when the power is switched off it, then it will help to produce some light and to run the fans. In addition, a solar panel will be taken to Cuba which will also charge a battery and can also be used to operate a fan or to charge an e-scooter. We will also make sure that two lamps with solar panels are sent to Cuba.

If any of you ever visit Cuba, why not try a holiday in the Holguin region in the east of Cuba? On the one hand, you can expect great beaches and beautiful, spacious hotels that are all in all very well-equipped and offer tourists a lot for their money. Due to the fact that many things are missing, it isn’t always perfect but the people try to make it as comfortable as possible for you. If you want to meet the team and Luisito, it would be really good of course and the taxi ride in an old Chevrolet is much cheaper with our friends than with the officials.

So if you are planning your next holiday and want to visit Cuba, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Greetings

Hans