A Cuban requested assistance for an 11-year-old boy who, as he recounted, roams areas of the city of Holguín offering to take out the trash from houses in exchange for a few coins to financially assist his mother.
Ernesto Almaguer Díaz recounted the case during a live broadcast on Facebook, after encountering the minor in the Vista Alegre neighborhood, specifically on Paz Street.
"It broke my heart because the boy goes around the houses asking to throw out trash so he can help his mom," he expressed.
According to Almaguer, the minor told him that he is 11 years old and lives alone with his mother.
A friend also mentioned that the boy often moves around different areas of the city doing that kind of work.
Almaguer explained that the meeting affected him particularly because, at that moment, he didn't have any money on him to help.
"I was overcome with tremendous sadness, and in that moment I didn't have a single peso in my pocket; if I had brought anything, I would have given it all," he assured.
For this reason, he called on the residents of Holguín to allow the minor to take out the trash if they see him doing so, and to provide him with any assistance within their means.
"That boy is doing it to be able to feed himself and his mom and to help," he stated.
Almaguer recognized that the minor shows a willingness to help his family, but emphasized that behind this behavior there is, in his opinion, a situation of deep need.
"It is a controversial situation because the boy is developing tremendous values, he is helping his family, but when he is doing that it is because he has a very strong need," she pointed out.
"Help him, please help him. To the extent that you can, a little cup of soda, a glass of water, 20 or 30 pesos to throw away a bit of trash, just do it," he insisted.
The case led Almaguer to recall his own childhood. He recounted that at the age of 14, he left school and began working at brick factories, making bricks, removing ashes from the ovens, and carrying materials.
During the broadcast, he also harshly criticized the living conditions faced by many families in Cuba and lamented that a child has to go out to seek money to contribute to the household's sustenance.
Children shouldn't be doing that, but we are living in a terrible country with a terrible government, he stated.
Later, he criticized the country's situation and the response from the authorities again.
"La infancia en Cuba, la vida en Cuba de los ancianos, de las personas en general, es terrible, es terrible. Estamos viviendo una situación de miseria en un país de mierda, con un gobierno que se preocupa muy poco por su pueblo", he expressed.
Almaguer closed by reiterating his plea for solidarity for the minor and his mother: "I sincerely hope that someone sees him out there and please helps him," he concluded.
Unfortunately, this scene is becoming increasingly common in the country, where children and adolescents end up seeking various ways to earn money to support their families.
In July, an 11-year-old boy in Camagüey was seen collecting aluminum cans early in the morning to help his mother.
The minor explained that he did it "to help my mom" and "to be able to eat."
Days later, in Sancti Spíritus, a boy named Emmanuel was going out to sell sweets made by his mother, amidst a public call for those who saw him to make a purchase and thus support his family.
Also in August, two children, aged 13 and 11, were photographed selling bread on the street to help their mothers, another case that illustrated how the economic crisis is driving minors to seek income to contribute to their households.
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