My Mission

My name is Philip Santiago and I am a senior at Palo Alto High School in California. I am raising money to help underprivileged kids at two daycares called “Aprendiendo a Crecer” and “Seguidores de Jesus” in the town of Bayamo, Cuba.

About Bayamo and the Daycares

Bayamo is a city of about 222,000 people in the east side of Cuba. This town in Cuba is meaningful to me because my Father’s entire family all come from Cuba. Also, my grandmother, Thelma Santiago, was born and raised in the humble city of Bayamo. My grandmother left Cuba in 1962, but she has kept in touch with friends in Bayamo, and she has visited it multiple times. My grandmother’s best friend from childhood, Caridad “Cacha” Tuñon, is the mother of a director of these daycares. 

Cuba is a poor country. The average Cuban lives on around thirty US dollars per month (tradingeconomics.com/cuba/wages). Collectively, these daycares together take care of as many as 60 kids at a time with ages ranging from 3 years old to early teens. Many of these kids are from poor families, by Cuban standards. Some of these kids also have learning disabilities and other special needs. These daycares take care of these kids from early morning until late afternoon because their families are unable to take care of them during this time. These daycares feed each child two meals a day, take care of them if they are sick, and provide basic education.

I have met and spoken to the Ms. Idalia Tuñon Calas, the director of Seguidores de Jesus. I also spoke to Ms. Maria Cristina Tamayo, the director of Aprendiendo a Crecer. They have told me in detail about the kids’ needs. Their most important needs are educational materials and basic over-the-counter medicines (e.g. Benadryl, ibuprofen, etc.). These kids lack basic necessities that we take for granted in the US. In the past, this day care has received assistance from a non-profit international charity called Caritas Internationalis (www.caritas.org). However, during the last couple years because of Covid restrictions this charity has been unable to aid these kids. I want to help. 

My Trip to Cuba

In September of 2022, I traveled to Havana, Cuba and took with me over 100 pounds of medicine, vitamins, first aid supplies and educational materials purchased by Project Bayamo.

On the island, I met with Maydelin “Maye” Azahares, the Cuban Representative for Caritas Internationals of Havana. Ms. Azahares coordinates all of the Caritas programs for children in Cuba. She and Caritas agreed to ship the Project Bayamo medicine to Bayamo. The packages will be sent in a van and will be received by  Cristina “Cristy” Tamayo, of Caritas, Bayamo. Ms. Tamayo will make sure that these donations are delivered to the two daycares in Bayamo that regularly receive our donations sent from the U.S. 

I could not travel to Bayamo because of the current economic crisis in Cuba. The lack of reliable transportation, COVID-19 restrictions, and the Dengue epidemic there made it impossible for me to take the donations to Bayamo.

Meeting with Maydelin “Maye” Azahares

The visit to Caritas in Havana and my meeting with Ms. Azahares was a gratifying experience and offered first hand insight into the needs of the poor children all over the island. She explained the daily struggles of these children and how donations like those by Project Bayamo make a world of difference in the lives of these little ones.