They are seeking help for a five-year-old boy with cerebral palsy and severe malnutrition in Ciego de Ávila

Ciego de Avila (Reference image)Photo © Cubadebate / Abel Padrón Padilla

The Cuban activist Guillermo Rodríguez Sánchez launched a fundraising campaign on Facebook to help a five-year-old boy from Ciego de Ávila who is suffering from several health issues and malnutrition, and for whom doctors are considering hospitalization due to the deterioration of his condition.

His name is Liuver Leandro Martínez Castillo, and he suffers from cerebral palsy, hypoxic encephalopathy, epilepsy, and protein-energy malnutrition, with weight and height below the third percentile. He is fed exclusively through a gastric tube and cannot stand on his own.

"He is a five-year-old boy who looks like he is 10 months old," described Rodríguez Sánchez in a video broadcast live from Mexico, where he currently resides.

All the food Liuver receives consists of shakes administered through a tube, a permanent connection directly to his stomach. According to the activist, "the special diet required for his condition is currently almost impossible to maintain in Cuba," due to the food crisis the country is facing.

Her mother, Kirenia, a graduate in Early Childhood Education, has been unable to work since the birth of her youngest child because his condition requires constant attention. She is a single mother and relies on the support of others to cover the medical supplies and special diet that Liuver needs.

Facebook capture / Guillermo Rodríguez Sánchez

The family's situation worsened about two or three months ago when unscrupulous individuals took advantage of a trip the mother made with her child to break into their home.

"Heartless neighbors watched Kirenia as she went out on an errand with the child, entered the house, and took the EcoFlow that had been gifted to her by a MiPyme, along with other belongings," reported Rodríguez Sánchez. The portable generator and the solar panel, previously donated through another solidarity campaign, were not recovered. "Fingerprints were taken, there were obvious suspects, yet no one was arrested," he added.

Rodríguez Sánchez, who had previously organized fundraisers for this family, announced that he would dedicate two days to raising funds without a specific goal.

Published the Bandec card number of the mother —9224 0699 9712 5683— for donations in Cuban pesos.

Dollars can be sent via Zelle or PayPal, with which the activist will purchase fortified milk, vitamin complexes, and tube-feeding suitable supplements in Mexico, with the aim of sending them to Cuba in a package scheduled for the first days of October.

Individuals interested in confirming donations can contact the number 59659518.

"Let's give him a bit of economic relief amid the very harsh existence Liuver has had to endure," wrote the activist at the end of his post.

It is not the first time that Rodríguez Sánchez has mobilized the Cuban community around such cases. In July, he raised over 500,000 pesos for another child with cerebral palsy in Havana.

Cuban families with children affected by this condition face shortages of medications, a lack of rehabilitation supplies, and deteriorated hospital infrastructure, obstacles that have worsened due to the economic and health crisis the country is experiencing.

Despite having left Cuba in 2025, Rodríguez Sánchez continues to organize these collections from abroad with the support of people on the Island, and documents each delivery with photos to build trust among donors.

In April, raised one million pesos for a family in extreme poverty in Júcaro, Ciego de Ávila, and two months later, a fundraising campaign linked to their profile surpassed 1.5 million pesos for a child with severe autism in Holguín.

In July, more than 400,000 pesos were raised in two days for eight-year-old Lía Isabel García Torres from Bayamo, who suffers from chronic respiratory diseases and lives in dire conditions with her mother, lacking even access to clean drinking water in their home.

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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.