A group of young Cubans led by the influencer Melissa, known on social media as "Meli creando con el corazón," provided a home to a couple in total need in Holguín.
This is the second house donated in less than a week as part of their solidarity initiative, fully funded by citizen donations.
The beneficiary, Milagros, a nursing assistant, received not only the keys to the home along with her husband but also clothing, appliances, and food items—luxuries that are currently out of reach for millions of Cubans.
The video shared on Instagram shows Milagros crying with emotion as she embraces Melissa and repeatedly says, unable to hold back: "Oh my God, I finally have a home where I can live peacefully. And I'm so happy."
"I never thought that after so many years I would have a little house here," confessed the woman, whose words starkly illustrate the reality of those who work for the Cuban state and still cannot attain decent housing.
Milagros earns between 4,000 and 4,400 Cuban pesos a month as a nursing assistant, a salary that amounts to less than 20 dollars and is insufficient to meet basic needs, let alone to access housing in the informal Cuban market.
"Today was truly an exceptional day because every step, all the time spent working hard, going crazy trying to do everything as quickly as possible and make it turn out well... it all pays off in moments like these," Melissa wrote when posting the video.
And he concluded with a promise that encapsulates the spirit of his project: "Together we can… we will place more band-aids on hearts."
This is the second installment of Melissa's project. The first house was donated to three vulnerable elderly people, also in Holguín, including a woman named Delia. At that time, Melissa wrote: "We do hear them, we do respond to their cries for help," a statement that stands in stark contrast to the regime's inaction in the face of the housing crisis.
The initiative is funded exclusively by voluntary donations from Cubans both inside and outside of the Island, without any ties to the State.
The contrast with government management is staggering. Cuba faces an official deficit of more than 900,000 homes, over 35% of the housing stock is in fair or poor condition, and the state's construction plans are systematically unmet: in 2025, only 22% of what was planned was completed, with a mere 2,382 out of 10,795 homes finished.
Holguín, the province where Melissa performs, was also one of the hardest hit by the hurricane in the fall of 2025, which left over 95,000 homes damaged in eastern Cuba. Government promises for reconstruction once again went unfulfilled, and health workers reported total abandonment following the cyclone's passage.
Melissa's initiative is part of a growing phenomenon of civic solidarity that fills the gap left by the State. The humanitarian project "Giving is Giving" distributes medicines and food across several provinces, and in Ciego de Ávila, Cubans raised more than 215,000 pesos in just 24 hours for a needy family in April 2026.
All these gestures have in common that they are carried out by ordinary citizens—often young people—who do what the state does not, and document it on social media to garner more support.
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