Snapshots of Cuba – It has been five days since we landed in Cuba. This country has been so close to Miami and so far from the United States for my entire life. Here we are. There are so many snapshots or images that we have experienced that seem to POP our eyes and minds wide open […]
Global Volunteers assists local farmers in our partner community of Ciego de Avila. On our inaugural service program in May, 2015, volunteers worked alongside paid community laborers on weeding and harvesting produce at “Garden Number 2.” (Read “Being a Farmer In Cuba” on one volunteer’s blog.) The vegetables are provided to childcare centers and sold to community […]
Pennsylvania nurse Holly Doll said volunteering in Cuba was greatly preferred over a standard cultural tour. Sewing with senior women and gardening beside a local farmer revealed the “soul” of Cuba, she said, and allowed her to “share and trust her heart to the Cuban people.” Doll manages a program at a residential center for seniors at home in Hanover. She greatly valued the […]
Both the gardening and maintenance teams set out for their work locations at 8:00AM, and the English teaching volunteers were off by 9:30AM for the Community Center. Sandy and Bill hoisted buckets of sand, gravel and concrete by means of a rope to the rooftop of the Church – where their project manager applied a second […]
Our inaugural conversational English classes in Cuba were tremendously successful for volunteers and students alike! Working with a Cuba English language teacher and his students, we provided their first opportunity to work in small groups with native English speakers. The number of students varied from 15 to 45 – more in the evening than the morning. Their ages […]
Our first destination this morning was ICAP: Cuban Institute of Friendship with People. Tears immediately sprang to my eyes as I saw a group of beautiful Cuban students in their identical red school uniforms. After we gathered, we were each approached by an individual child and given a hand-colored picture of the Cuban flag. Songs […]
After a quick one-hour flight to Santa Clara, we’re off to Ciego de Avila with our gracious hosts, Eduardo and Ramon. We arrived at our wonderful hotel (Hotel Ciego De Avila), got our room assignments and had dinner at a nearby restaurant. On Sunday, we had the privilege of joining Eduardo for his Church service. […]
From Team Leader Pam Cromer : “I always feel like I’m leaving a part of me behind as we prepare to leave. I’m sure that’s why I continue to come back. My admiration and respect continues to grow for the teachers who are truly dedicated to their students. I am humbled by the tenacity of […]
Traveling to Cuba is surprisingly easy. After a short flight from Miami, we were met at the airport by our Cuban liaison – who reminds us of an old friend. Most of the Cubans we meet with are very educated, and excited to speak English with us. They’re curious about our lives, and happy to share […]
The direct flight from Miami to Havana is disarmingly brief, as I discovered during my first trip there on a Global Volunteers People-to-People program in 2012. After our ascent, we enjoyed just a few minutes at “cruising altitude” before the captain announced our descent into Cuba. It shouldn’t have been surprising since we were only […]