Stephanie, a seven-year-old girl with a disability, and her grandmother Mireiba, who had been living outdoors for months after the collapse of their home in the Venezuela municipality of Ciego de Ávila, have regained joy and hope in recent hours, thanks to the solidarity of numerous Cubans who made it possible to purchase a new house for them.
“‘And the house is done!’” wrote the activist Guillermo Rodríguez Sánchez on Facebook, announcing the purchase of the home and sharing the video of the touching moment when the lady and her granddaughter visited for the first time the home where they will begin to write new chapters of their lives.
Tears, laughter, mixed emotions, a whirlwind of feelings for Stephanie and Mireiba, as they realized that days of misfortune and distress had given way to a joyful reality, and for Rodríguez, Verona Bonce, and all the other people who, with great humanity, helped to change their lives.
“I am thrilled, thrilled… Oh my God!” Mireiba expressed as she walked around the spaces of her new home and took in all the donated items. Several times, she wiped away her tears with a towel.
Meanwhile, Stephanie hurried to explore every corner and was in awe: "Wowwww… how beautiful she is!" she exclaimed. Earlier, very happily, she had opened the display case in one of the rooms and made her first domestic decision: "This is my part, and this is your part," she told her grandmother.
The photos captured the moment when both of them posed very happily while receiving the keys to their home.
In the introduction of the video and several posts, Rodríguez expressed gratitude to those who donated money, appliances, and furniture to furnish the home, as well as clothing, shoes, and toys for the little girl.
With the funds collected after the aid campaign began last June, it was possible to purchase a home in the same neighborhood of Venezuela where the woman and the girl already lived, just four blocks from their previous residence.
The activist published a detailed account of the donation, starting with the house, which was purchased for 500,000 pesos from the raised funds, and mentioning the individuals who donated a refrigerator (valued at 80,000 pesos), a television (120,000 CUP), rice cookers and bean pots, a blender, and the dining set. Meanwhile, the display case was bought with 10,000 pesos from the total amount collected.
It was highlighted that supporters from Ciego de Ávila and Camagüey donated 180 pounds of clothing, shoes, and toys. Paint for the house was also purchased, costing 9,000 pesos.
Rodríguez announced that in the coming days they will visit the house again: “When Mireiba has painted, cleaned, moved her belongings, and organized everything with more surprises and a toast, then I will give another financial report.”
"We have done the supreme good today; we have provided happiness and shelter to a brave grandmother who took on the inhumane conditions of raising her hearing-impaired granddaughter when her mother abandoned her," he expressed.
"This video belongs to you; this achievement is of the good and empathetic people, of kind souls who came to erase the sense of helplessness," he stated in his heartfelt message, in which he thanked each and every supportive individual, from those who liked and shared the posts to those who placed their trust in him and Verona to send them "100 dollars or 100 Cuban pesos."
“God is watching us today, God is observing you at all times, and that rain is nothing more than a divine cleansing sent from heaven to purify the moment,” he stated. “Mireiba and Stephanie, enjoy your home; you truly deserve it.”
In the comments, Verona revealed: “More things are needed. This was necessary, without delay, since the girl and her grandmother were caught in the rain, and that will be the weather in the coming days. We will deliver more appliances and other items. We try not to overlook details. And the final result will be the happiness of this precious girl and the peace of mind for her grandmother.”
The aid campaign for Mireiba, 52, and her seven-year-old granddaughter Stephanie, began in June after Rodríguez revealed that they were both living outdoors following the collapse of the precarious house where they had lived in the Van Van neighborhood of the Venezuela municipality about three months earlier.
The grandmother took care of the girl since she was abandoned by her mother a few months ago. Stephanie, who was born with a congenital malformation (agenesis of the auditory canal) and is hearing impaired, attended a special school for deaf children and those with hearing disabilities, and today she is in second grade at the "Venezuela Libre" school.
The woman was doing housework to earn some money and support both of them with what was left of the home after the collapse, without any appliances or even the most basic conditions. Meanwhile, the neighbors helped by giving them a plate of food.
Rodríguez then pointed out that the woman had sought help from the local government. "The only response so far has been the delivery of those twisted logs you see in one of the photos," he reported.
He added that, during those days, on a temporary basis, "a makeshift roof was put together with some old tiles and a few sticks with the help of neighbors," so that they could continue sleeping there.
The case of Stephanie and her grandmother is just one example of the profound housing crisis in Cuba.
In 2024, five times fewer houses were built than in 1984 and fifteen times fewer than in 2006, according to official data cited by economist Pedro Monreal. "In the worst year of the Special Period (1992), almost three times more homes were built than in 2024," the expert emphasized.
State media reported that the regime's housing plan experienced a severe shortfall in the first quarter of 2025, achieving only 12.4% of what was anticipated. The shortage of cement, the shutdown of key factories, and low public investment have exacerbated the issue.
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