Cubans gift a house to a mother and her daughter who were living in terrible conditions in Holguín



Cuban motherPhoto © Facebook

Griselda Tarrago Escobar, 49 years old, and the young Natacha Montenegro Tarrago, six years old, received a new house in El Llano, San Andrés, Holguín, thanks to a citizen solidarity campaign promoted on social media that culminated in the delivery of the home documented by content creator Héctor Lorenzo.

The case was made public in mid-April through the Facebook group "My City Has a Little Prince," a humanitarian project in Holguín, after receiving a call for help.

The first videos showed a home with a broken roof, unstable electricity, and a wood-fired stove in the kitchen.

"This is my stove; I cook with firewood, and I have to gather the firewood myself with my daughter, because in this country, there is hardly any electricity," Griselda had said at the beginning of the solidarity campaign.

Griselda is not Natacha's biological mother, but she has raised her since birth because Natacha's biological mother, who is 23 years old, suffers from severe ataxia with brain damage that prevents her from taking care of the child.

Natacha suffers from bronchial asthma and hematological disorders that cause her anemia, and she had been without medication for about seven months before the campaign started.

"I’ve raised her almost without food. With the help of the neighbors, who are wonderful," Griselda shared in the initial videos that touched the hearts of thousands.

The campaign was driven by Héctor Lorenzo, a content creator with a presence on TikTok and Facebook under the page "Soy Holguín," whose community actively participated in the donations.

Over the weeks, the assistance began to grow: first came 5,000 Cuban pesos from a donor named Ana Ponce, followed by medicine, a new bed, shoes, and toys for Natacha.

On April 24, after it was revealed that Griselda was cooking in the rain while her daughter was sick, household appliances were donated: infrared stove, refrigerator, multipurpose cooker, rice cooker, pressure cooker, and fan.

The total amount raised by the campaign reached 234,000 Cuban pesos.

The conclusion came with the handing over of the new house, which Griselda toured, visibly emotional in front of the camera. "I love it. Now I'm going to show you my kitchen with my appliances. So I won’t be cooking on that wood stove anymore, but in a very beautiful little thing," she expressed.

The woman especially thanked Héctor Lorenzo's community of followers: "I thank from the bottom of my heart all the people who have contributed to these little things. To Héctor Lorenzo from the Soy Holguín page and the TikTok he has with so many wonderful people, may God bless them all."

This case adds to a growing trend in Holguín, where organized citizen groups on social media fill the void left by the state in situations of extreme vulnerability.

In the same weeks, the influencer Melissa gifted a house to homeless elderly individuals on April 27, and delivered another home on May 3. Also in Holguín, Cubans raised over a million pesos for a couple in extreme vulnerability.

The housing deficit in Cuba exceeds 900,000 units in 2026, and the government only met 22% of its construction plan in 2025 —2,382 out of 10,795 planned homes— due to a shortage of cement, steel, and wood, making these citizen initiatives the only real resource for thousands of families.

"I'm back in my little house and I'm very happy, thanks to you all," was the phrase with which Griselda concluded the video that garnered over 142,000 views.

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CiberCuba Editorial Team

A team of journalists committed to reporting on Cuban current affairs and topics of global interest. At CiberCuba, we work to deliver truthful news and critical analysis.

CiberCuba Editorial Team

A team of journalists committed to reporting on Cuban current affairs and topics of global interest. At CiberCuba, we work to deliver truthful news and critical analysis.