A group of supportive Cubans organized a donation campaign to help Griselda Tarrago Escobar, 49, and little Natacha Montenegro Tarrago, six years old, who live in extremely precarious conditions in El Llano, San Andrés, Holguín.
The case was brought to light by the Facebook group "My City has a Little Prince", a humanitarian support project "created with the sole goal of helping vulnerable people," after receiving a call for help. The published videos show a house with a broken roof, lacking stable access to electricity, and a wood-burning stove kitchen that Griselda must tend to herself alongside the child.
"This is my stove; I cook with firewood, and I myself have to gather the firewood with my daughter, because in this country there is hardly any electricity," Griselda said while showing her home in one of the videos.
Natacha suffers from two severe chronic conditions: bronchial asthma and hematological disorders that cause her anemia. The young girl had been without medication for approximately seven months before the solidarity campaign began.
Griselda is not Natacha's biological mother, but she has raised her since birth. "Since she was born, I took her in and we are always together, even though we are often alone. I'm not married or anything," she explained.
The biological mother of the girl is 23 years old and suffers from severe ataxia with brain damage that prevents her from caring for her. "She is 23 years old and is an ataxic, and she is almost dead, disabled. And she loves the girl very much...", Griselda described. The father also has health issues and cannot take on the responsibility for the minor.
Griselda admitted to raising the girl in conditions of extreme scarcity: "I have raised her almost without food. With the help of the neighbors, who are wonderful. All the neighbors have helped me."
The solidarity campaign successfully gathered cash and in-kind donations. A donor identified as Ana Ponce contributed five thousand Cuban pesos for the child's nourishment. A collaborator named Héctor arranged the delivery of medications, and the group also organized the arrival of a new bed, shoes, and toys for Natacha.
Griselda publicly thanked all the donors and requested that contributions be channeled exclusively through the group. "The help reaches my very own home exactly", she stated.
The case of Griselda and Natacha reflects a growing trend in Cuba: citizens organized in social media groups that fill the void of the State in situations of extreme vulnerability. In Holguín, similar initiatives have achieved concrete results in recent years, which has turned popular solidarity into an informal yet effective mechanism of social assistance on the island.
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