International Work in Cuba

I realized years of traveling back home bringing gifts and school supplies for my family and the community, the need for educational materials is still so great. During my last trip in September 2018, I was able to bring a few supplies to the kids in the neighborhood where I grew up. The gratitude that came back from the families within the community was overwhelming, and it was during this trip that I knew I needed to build a bridge between the Portland school community and the community back home, where we can maximize our efforts to provide these much needed school supplies.

Cuba holds their educational system to the highest standard, however, many underrepresented communities still struggle to supply children at basic levels with the educational tools they need to succeed. These needs are very simple: pencils, pens, paper, backpacks, notebooks, etc. As part of our efforts to support Title 1 schools within our local community in Portland Public District Schools, we want to incorporate our local kids to be the protagonists in this union. The purpose of this program is to raise funds to buy school supplies for overlooked kids in the poorest cities of Cuba through local events, fundraisers, and community work. We believe that these basic needs will help these kids engage more effectively in lessons, will restore confidence in their classrooms and will help them gain knowledge which they can bring back to the community to improve the overall welfare.