A wave of solidarity emerged this Wednesday in support of Lía Isabel García Torres, an eight-year-old girl living in extreme poverty in Bayamo, Granma province, after her story was shared by Cuban journalist and activist Guillermo Rodríguez Sánchez through his Facebook profile.
In just a few hours, mothers from Bayamo began arriving at Lía's house with their children to give her toys and gifts, while packages with clothing, vitamins, and school supplies arrived from outside, and monetary donations reached 270,000 Cuban pesos.
One of the most emotional gestures was from a boy who donated his Stitch stuffed animal—the very one he had asked for as a birthday gift—and cried as he handed it over.
His mother wrote to Rodríguez Sánchez: "I have three children, two boys and a girl, and they were going crazy pulling out toys to give to Lía. The oldest gifted a Stitch plush toy that he cried so much for because he wanted it as a gift for his birthday."
From abroad, a supporter sent a package weighing 11.50 pounds containing toys, vitamins, clothing, and school supplies, addressed to the mother of Lía, Lariatne Gamboa Morales, in Bayamo.
Rodríguez Sánchez confirmed that there are several more shipments already dispatched that will arrive at the girl's house in the next 15 days.
Regarding cash donations, the activist announced that 270,000 pesos have already been raised and that he will organize the delivery of the money to the family as soon as possible.
Lía's case was reported not by her own mother, but by a neighbor who occasionally brings them food and pleaded for help on their behalf.
The girl suffers from chronic respiratory illnesses, has been without access to drinking water at home for over 50 days, has an empty and rusted refrigerator, and her only toys until now have been dolls rescued from the trash that she sews clothes for herself.
Rodríguez Sánchez described the situation harshly: "Let no one try to sugarcoat it; not having anything to eat or the means to find proper food, even if you work, is the worst kind of misery."
The water crisis affecting Lía is not an isolated case in Granma. The Provincial Electric Company admitted in June that it was only generating one third of the energy it needs, with circuits accumulating more than 45 consecutive hours without service. Since the water supply relies on electric pumps, power outages directly hinder access to water: over 67,000 residents of Granma lack water service, and a private water truck can cost up to 20,000 Cuban pesos.
The national context is equally serious. According to the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, 89% of Cuban families live in extreme poverty with an average salary of just 13 dollars per month. More than 100,000 children do not receive daily milk, and nearly half of students aged six to 11 do not receive food at school.
Those who wish to support Lía and her family can send donations to the BPA card 9238 1299 7955 8725, in the name of Verona Bonce, a friend of the family, since the mother does not have a bank account. This is not the first time that citizen solidarity has filled the gap left by state inaction: in previous campaigns, Rodríguez Sánchez managed to raise one million pesos for a family in Júcaro, and last Monday, Cubans raised 45,000 pesos for other families in critical situations.
"Just like Lía and her mother, there are thousands of mothers and girls in Cuba," wrote Rodríguez Sánchez, succinctly capturing the essence of a crisis that the regime neither acknowledges nor addresses.
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