Steph Muise, in Remedios, who thought “Why not?! Great way to help out an improvised country on my way down to my vacation! I think this is a great concept!” – this is her story:
“I had a great trip to Santa Maria. John’s friend Yoannia was kind enough to arrange for her friend Nestor to drive us all to Santa Clara and Remedios. In Santa Clara we went to the main hospital to drop off the suitcases.
My day trip to Santa Clara and Remedios was the highlight of my trip. The hospital visit, seeing Che’s memorial in Remedios where Yoannia lives she showed us the town, her musician friends played and she sang; while we had a real Cuban lunch made by her husband.
The hospital area of town was huge with different buildings representing different departments. The buildings are old and in need of repair. Seeing people lined up outside the main hospital entrance to be seen was interesting. It’s amazing how they have free healthcare and education but everything is so run down.
They were very grateful for the medical supplies. John bought stethoscopes and you think we handed them four bars of gold! Their reactions were priceless. Apparently they don’t have them in stock for doctors to use. They have to sign them out when they need to use one!! How crazy is that?!
I’ve never heard of this organization until John told me. I didn’t hesitate to say yes in bringing a suitcase. I am a social worker by trade. Whenever I travel now I will see if it’s a city that I can bring a suitcase to.
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity.”
