With the Cubacar voucher off to hotel Habana Libre to pick up our Suzuki Vitara. Without (almost) any problems we get our car and with a big smile intending to drive away ... somebody whistle to show us our flat tire ...
Off the car and into the lobby again to wait till the Suzuki is repaired. 1 hour later we go with a bag full of money to Madruga

Together with P and our contact person K in Madruga we decided to give cash money instead of buying building materials and thén hand out. This because P and K pointed me to the risk to get into (political) troubles when we get too much attention in such a small village. Afterwards after talking to the people I understand. I won't doubt the people won't use this donated money to their houses because they really need everything to repair.

Madruga, a small town along the old Carretera Central, the small center is a kind of mixture between Baracoa and Viñales but then even smaller, surrounded by small wooden houses and beautiful landscapes and mountains ... Cuba on its best, if there was no poverty ...

We pick K up at the busstation as promissed, before we drive into town. Stonelike buildings seems to be ok, but in many old wooden houses one can look through the walls outside, a pig in a sideroom and the bathroom is nothing more than 4 wooden boards and a hole in the ground. People wear old clothes and a skinny grandpa lie on the bed for a rest ... sad, sad, sad.

We stop at the first house and try to explain who we are and that there are many foreigners who want to help them repairing their house. They first look surprised, and we ask the woman if she thinks she can use some money ... now they look even more surprised, there is a small silence and she invites us to come in.
The condition to get the money is that we need her name and tell us where she will use the money for. That is not that difficult because the whole place is a mess ...

We repeat this methode till our bag with convertible pesos is empty.

The People are frightened and scared for political concequences.
But besides fear, poverty and misery Cubans keep their humor. In one of the houses we visit lives a big family, after we ask to give us a name the youngest of the family says: "write down grandma's name, IF one has to go to jail it is better she goes instead of one of the younger family members" the other 5 laughed out loud.

We give K something extra for organising and her house is the worst of all ... besides she is HIV positive ...

Thanks to those who donated and read this, you made many Cubans very happy!