Cuba Customs in port of Havana

Your point of view has merit; however, I realize that my comments left out one important detail about my experience, an experience that leads me to post the way I do. I've already written that I took a land trip to Cuba. What I have not said was that it was a group trip with a religious organization that makes multiple trips annually on People to People missions. Our trip included a stop in Havana at a religious-run farmacia and a state-run medical clinic in the outlying countryside. All trip participants were required to bring a modest donation.

 

 

 

Admittedly, this is a different situation than that of an unprepared cruiser who docks at the Havana harbor and goes looking for a place to donate supplies to the Cuban people. A visit to Cuba is an emotional experience for American citizens who are old enough to have lived through the tension-filled days of the Cuban blockade and decades of blockade and animosity. There is something demonstrably different about visiting Cuba compared to visiting most other countries, and, as such, I don't share your criticism of folks who want a more personal gesture of good will than writing a check.

 

 

 

A cruiser will not have the built-in support that I had when making a donation, but, the information I've shared may help someone who is committed to making a tangible donation achieve that goal. And there's nothing to prevent a cruiser from following up on their port calls with a check!

Thanks for making my point from another direction.

What some "wannabe do-gooders" refuse to do is examine/respect the "bigger picture."

What some "wannabe do-gooders" refuse to do is examine/respect the "bigger picture."

I'm sure the OP means well and thinks that taking items to the Cubans will help their lives. My guess is that one or more of these situations is occuring:

~ The OP hasn't traveled to poorer countries and pictures grateful people lining up at the pier to receive desperately needed supplies.

~ The OP hasn't been to Cuba and is expecting to see poverty like in Haiti or Jamaica. Also might not know the socialist system in Cuba and what each citizen is given by their govt.

~ The OP doesn't know anyone who is experienced in helping people in poor countries, so doesn't realize that giving away "freebies" isn't really helpful and just teaches the locals to expect handouts instead of how to work.

Hopefully this thread has helped the OP to think about charity donations in a different light. Do some research and find a legitimate charity in Cuba and help them to help the locals. Your heart is in the right place. :hearteyes:

slightly off topic

when we went to Roatan our guide there told us that the cruise pax were giving out little trinkets to the children ..useful things

So when the ships were in the kids would skip school to get the handouts ..then sell them on

Better for kids to get an education ;)

Just because some of the Islands do not live up the North American standards does not mean they are less fortunate

JMO

~ The OP doesn't know anyone who is experienced in helping people in poor countries, so doesn't realize that giving away "freebies" isn't really helpful and just teaches the locals to expect handouts instead of how to work.

This sentence does not reflect the situation in Cuba. Folks should not think about the situation in Cuba in the same terms as the situation in Haiti, for example. The issue there is not that people need to be taught to work rather than to expect handouts. The issue is that years of embargo have created a shortage of available things. For example, people with jobs who are fully prepared to pay for aspirins simply can't find those aspirins on the shelves. Now multiply that problem about aspirins to every product imaginable and you may have a better understanding of the situation.

Everyone understands that the US does not allow American countries to sell products to Cuba, but the reality is even more severe. The terms of the embargo are such that the US will not buy goods and services from a foreign company that sells products to Cuba. This produces the shortages that many cruisers are trying to in their very small and personal way to reduce through their donations.

Visitors who want to make a donation should do their homework before they leave for the cruise. Contact your place of worship and ask if those folks know of a religious-based relief effort where you can bring medicines. Contact places like First Hand Aid and Global Volunteers. Contact the American Red Cross to link up with the Cuban Red Cross. Go through the existing organizations to link up with well-regarded donation centers in Cuba.

If you still want to donate and don't have the time to do lots of research, you can be confident that the farmacia of the main Jewish synagogue in Havana, Comunidad Hebrea de la Habana Beth Shalom (AKA Temple Beth Shalom) is fully prepared to deal with a donation of medicine or toiletries. These items are given free of charge to anyone regardless of religion.

Hopefully this thread has helped the OP to think about charity donations in a different light. Do some research and find a legitimate charity in Cuba and help them to help the locals. Your heart is in the right place. :hearteyes:

We're in complete agreement.

This sentence does not reflect the situation in Cuba. Folks should not think about the situation in Cuba in the same terms as the situation in Haiti, for example. The issue there is not that people need to be taught to work rather than to expect handouts. The issue is that years of embargo have created a shortage of available things. For example, people with jobs who are fully prepared to pay for aspirins simply can't find those aspirins on the shelves. Now multiply that problem about aspirins to every product imaginable and you may have a better understanding of the situation.

 

Everyone understands that the US does not allow American countries to sell products to Cuba, but the reality is even more severe. The terms of the embargo are such that the US will not buy goods and services from a foreign company that sells products to Cuba. This produces the shortages that many cruisers are trying to in their very small and personal way to reduce through their donations.

 

Visitors who want to make a donation should do their homework before they leave for the cruise. Contact your place of worship and ask if those folks know of a religious-based relief effort where you can bring medicines. Contact places like First Hand Aid and Global Volunteers. Contact the American Red Cross to link up with the Cuban Red Cross. Go through the existing organizations to link up with well-regarded donation centers in Cuba.

 

If you still want to donate and don't have the time to do lots of research, you can be confident that the farmacia of the main Jewish synagogue in Havana, Comunidad Hebrea de la Habana Beth Shalom (AKA Temple Beth Shalom) is fully prepared to deal with a donation of medicine or toiletries. These items are given free of charge to anyone regardless of religion.

I was meaning that cruisers should not take a suitcase of items and stand on a street corner in Havana and just hand them out. That sounds like what the OP was planning to do. Obviously going through a charity is fine.

I've brought a backpack full of things twice to Cuba, consisting of pens, chocolate, makeup, toothpaste & brushes, soap, shampoo, T shirts, etc. There's an orphanage close to the dock that I give things to & I hand out full makeup bags(they LOVE the bags) & T shirts to tour guides & people who help us with directions, etc. No one has ever hoarded around us or begged. Even if they had the money to but things they are not available. When you have someone give you a huge hug for giving them something that is unavailable there it's a really good feeling (yeah, I do it for selfish reasons) By the way they love Colgate toothpaste.

Please don’t stand on the street anywhere and offer items. Many 501c-3 organizations are willing to accept solid goods or money to legitimate organizations.

Learned my lesson in Cairo years ago taking a duffle bag full of supplies for kids and you will get surrounded by a bunch and will not have enough to give them. We have many Cuban friends and they say take it to a church or a school that will distribute these needed items.

There is another thing to consider; on a private tour, we learned (November 2017) that the communist government still has what they euphemistically call “neighborhood committees”. The organization chart and photos of the leader of these committees - by neighborhood!- were posted on a wall in the closest thing I could equate to a French “tabac”. You could buy a beer, a coke, a bottle of water, chips and maybe a couple other things in this place. Anyways, the cashier/bartender/shopkeep explained thatthe neighborhood citizens are watched by other neighbors. There are incentives given for reporting “bad behaviors”. One of the things frowned upon is accepting these kinds of goods- his very clear inference being that the very people acepting these goods could actually be getting themselves into trouble.

This is what makes an NGO an extremely attractive option.

Also, be advised that if you buy beer, soda or water in a glass bottle, don’t throw away the bottles- look for locals collecting them (they get the refund received when returning them to locations where they receive a coin or two for returning the bottles)