About us

Cubafriend was set up in November 2008 by Shaun Keable, Roz Keable, Antonio Valcarce and Mercedes Rodriguez. Initially, Cuba was just a holiday destination for Shaun and his family in April 2008, but while at the Playa Pesquero resort in Guardalavaca, Shaun spent a little time each day with a gardener on the resort called Ernesto Gongora. Ernesto would work all day from 7am until 4pm, in 30 degree heat, cutting the grass with a machete, for a monthly wage of around £12. Shaun and Ernesto exchanged addresses and agreed to keep in contact.

In September 2008 hurricanes Gustav and Ike decimated the province of Holguin, leaving many people homeless, including Ernesto and his family. After several frantic weeks of trying to make contact with Ernesto, Shaun finally succeeded, to find that the village of Puerta de Vita, where Ernesto lives had been badly hit and left him and many others with no shelter, struggling to survive. At this point Shaun and Roz decided that Shaun would make the trip over to take what aid he could and see what other help could be provided.

Flights to the local airport had all been cancelled making the trip more difficult, but with a lot of help from Antonio and Mercedes, making arrangements with hotel staff and the internal bus company a route was planned and Shaun set off from Gatwick armed with aid collected from friends and family and a determination to improve the situation for these people, even if only in a small way. After a 10 hour flight and a twelve hour bus ride across Cuba, followed by another hours taxi ride, Shaun finally arrived at his destination to be met by a scene of total devastation. Ernesto and his family, together with the other residents of the village made him feel so welcome and the week was spent distributing the clothing, medicines and other supplies to the village residents as well as planning the next steps.

Shaun returned to England with a new desire to make a real difference to these peoples lives and set about creating Cubafriend. With a lot of help from Antonio, Mercedes and Roz, charitable status was gained and a website was set up to help spread the word about these peoples plight. We were all determined that any funds raised would be spent on the intended beneficiaries and that has been the charities policy from day one. As such we keep accounts online to show everyone what has been spent, when, and what the money has bought. We believe that people like to see what their money has paid for as this allows them to feel more a part of the project.

As this article is being written, Ernesto is building a new house, which, unlike the previous one, should be able to withstand the weather conditions expected later in the season. The children in the village school have new sports and computer equipment to improve their education experiences and the word is spreading in the Holguin area of the work Cubafriend is doing, giving renewed hope to many. We are currently looking into further project which will allow these people to become more self sufficient, giving them the chance that they all want to provide for themselves. Rest assured that any money donated to this cause goes where it is meant to go and serves a fantastic purpose.