July 29, 2015
Last week, 10 Commodore student-athletes ventured to Cuba with Soles4Souls for a historic international service trip. Due to a lack of stable internet service in Havana and Trinidad, the Commodores weren’t able to send out daily blogs. Now that they are back in the states, the student-athletes are able to share their journals.
Our second blog was written on Tuesday, July 21 by Morgan Ransom of the women’s golf team and Logan Cox of the soccer team. The pair describe their second day in Cuba, which included the group’s first two shoe distributions.
Today was a day full of shoe distributions and learning about Cuban history. We loaded the bus and traveled to our first shoe distribution at an art education school, Angela Landa, located in Old Havana. When we arrived, we were warmly greeted by the founder of the program and enjoyed a short presentation to learn more about the importance of art and music in Cuban culture. This was refreshing to see so much attention placed on creativity. The smiling faces of children ranging from age five to 15 waited patiently to be fitted for their new pair of shoes. We were able to converse with the children in basic Spanish while we colored their shoes and handed out toys.
Our next distribution came quickly after as we made our way to another school. The principal, who has been at the school for more than 20 years, talked with us about the first grade students in the school. As she described, many of the children are in difficult “social situations,” and would be grateful for a fresh pair of shoes. Like the first, this distribution was a success in the fact that it ran smoothly and we were able to leave the children with something to remember.
The rest of the day entailed exploring Old Havana. First, we went to a popular square called Plaza del Arma where we were able to barter on some traditional Cuban items. There were many books, old postcards, and watches as well as political and social posters for sale. Many dogs wandered around, as well as musicians and guitarists. We took a walking tour to our next location where we met Jose Viera, a former Cuban diplomat and policy advisor. He discussed the political relations between the U.S. and Cuba and touched on discrimination that still exists within Cuba. After enjoying a traditional Cuban dinner, many of us went to a nearby soccer field and played a pickup game with local children and teens. So far, the trip has been heartwarming and enlightening. After a busy day, we are all exited to get some rest and see what tomorrow has in store for us.