The mother of Gretel, a 26-year-old woman with paranoid schizophrenia who lives confined in a room with metal bars in the Aguado neighborhood of Velasco, municipality of Gibara, Holguín, broke down in tears as she expressed gratitude for the overwhelming donations her family received thanks to a solidarity campaign shared on Facebook by activist Noly Blak.
"I don't know what words to use because, honestly, I have no expressions to thank so many people, from the United States to Switzerland. I had never dreamed of this, ever," declared Jacqueline, 56 years old, visibly emotional in the thank-you video published by Noly Blak.
The case made its way to social media by chance: a neighbor named Felipe brought food to the family and filmed the situation, posting it on Facebook without their knowledge. From that moment on, the outpouring of support did not stop.
The family received a television, a washing machine, a rechargeable fan, a rice cooker, a decoder, a cell phone with 162,000 pesos on the card, food, and medicine. The local community of Velasco also contributed supplies, including two or three trays of eggs.
Noly Blak remarked, in astonishment, that the family's refrigerator dated back to 1989 —37 years old— serving as a symbol of the extreme hardship in which they lived.
A doctor identified as "Dr. Redis," residing in the United States, sent antipsychotic medications: 20 milligrams of olanzapine, 5 milligrams of haloperidol, and a third substance identified as 25 milligrams of venadolina.
Jacqueline had described a desperate situation before receiving assistance: "We are going through a very tough time because what we receive from that social assistance is not enough for what this girl needs. She has paranoid schizophrenia, and those medications give her a lot of anxiety and a strong appetite. We can’t afford to provide for her."
Her husband, 81 years old, who moves with two canes after a bladder operation in 2020 and subsequent tendinitis, succinctly summarized his stance: "I have to face the situation, I can't turn my back on it. I have to confront it, no matter what comes."
The mother also reported that the social workers never visited the home, despite the seriousness of the situation: "Did the social workers come? Of course not. No one."
The donor lists published by Noly Blak cover four fundraising rounds, with contributions in Cuban pesos and dollars from dozens of people both on the island and abroad. Among the largest contributors are "CUBANA CON CUBA 100%" and Sahily, each with 50,000 Cuban pesos, and Ramón Montano with 20,000 pesos. Several donors from abroad contributed in dollars, including Jaume Ferron, Lucas Corbea, and Yanexi Machín, each with 100 dollars.
The case is set against the backdrop of the severe shortage of psychiatric medications in Cuba, where the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, admitted before the National Assembly in July 2025 that only 30-32% of the essential medications are available in pharmacies, a situation that particularly adversely affects patients with severe mental illnesses.
Noly Blak, originally from Holguín, has turned his Facebook campaigns into an informal support network that fills the gaps left by the State. In April 2026, he raised over three million pesos for another family from Holguín, and in May he gathered more than 1,137,000 pesos for two siblings in extreme vulnerability.
"I was crying because the emotion and gratitude are so immense that I don’t know how to thank you for what you have done for us, for this humble family," said Jacqueline, closing a video that gathered over 815,000 views on Facebook.
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