When you act from your heart, everything is okay...

Cuba has really been on my mind lately, especially with the current natural disaster that wreaked havoc in the Eastern part of Havana, and where some close friends' homes suffered damages.

It has also been on my mind because of upcoming projects in Cuba (stay tuned) and because, just recently I had the wonderful opportunity to reconnect with an old friend; Michael Sanchez, a University professor in Havana.  I worked with Michael for many years as he offered unique and 'off the beaten path' local tours that really ventured into areas of Havana and other parts in Cuba, that most tourists never got to see.  He also has a deep passion for his work which radiated in the lectures he gave many groups of students and faculty wanting an authentic and local cultural experience.

During that time, Michael was undertaking a big task in Cuba by putting together a grassroots

organization in 'Los Pocitos', a community located in Southern Havana, focusing on community development initiatives for the residents living there.  His bigger goal was to eventually build a community centre where he would be able to work with the children by offering workshops focusing on art, drama, photography music etc.  At that time Michael did not have support from any Cuban government institution nor funding - foreign organizations like the one I worked with helped with funding for his initiatives as well as putting together academic programming that focused on some aspect of volunteerism for the community.  He did what he did from his heart, and during the little free time he had (he worked as a University professor, father of 2 little girls & highly-sought after tour leader).

Los Pocitos, located in Mariano, Havana is a marginalized community made up of approximately 4000 inhabitants, where 40% of its inhabitants are women and mostly where black, mestizo and other migrant communities live (other migrant communities are individuals migrating from Eastern provinces in Cuba).  The community is made up of formal and informal housing, usually illegal and who do not have the usual access to Government food rations or health care and are not considered for work in the public sector.   Most of its inhabitants, practice the Afro-Cuban religions that characterize Cuban culture and but most interestingly the Abakuá religion; an Afro-Cuban men's initiatory fraternity, or secret society, which originated from fraternal associations in the regions of southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon. The community is highly stigmatized against and promotes stereotypes and other generalizations. 
 

Michael named his project, Akokán meaning “heart” in the Yoruba language (originating from Nigeria) with the slogan or message; “cuando actúas de akokán, todo es oddara,” which means, when you act from your heart, everything is okay.  All of this happened in 2017, when he first presented his proposal to me.  Today, 2019 I am happy to report Michael got his community centre along with now offering additional workshops and other activities for children in the community.  The projects' plans for this year are to paint 500 homes as well as adding other workshops that will require material (like paint, paper, costumes etc).  Today they are trying to help those affected by the recent tornado.

Michaels' vision and slogan; 'when you act from your heart, everything is okay' is what got his project to where it is today and where it will continue to go.  It goes to show that when you act from your heart, with intention and passion; everything will always be ok.

You can visit Proyecto Akokan's facebook page here.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog...