The Master Key That Opens Every Door
This family from San Antonio del Sur, in Guantánamo, lost everything after Hurricane Oscar. Their story reflects the power of love, resilience, and the importance of humanitarian aid.
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Indira Méndez and Giovanni Noa remember every detail of the early morning hours that followed Hurricane Oscar’s passage through Guantánamo. Recalling what happened in San Antonio del Sur feels like reliving a horror film.
When water began seeping under the door of their home, they didn’t even have time to find the key to the front gate lock. “It was 4 a.m., and while my husband searched for the key, my cousin and I climbed onto a bed with the children,” Indira recalls of that October 21, 2024. “The key had definitely gone under the water. Then Giovanni found a pair of pliers and broke through the fence so we could finally get out.”
That day, the mountains north of San Antonio del Sur received over 355 millimeters of rain from Category 1 Hurricane Oscar—278 millimeters of which fell between 1 and 4 a.m. The Los Ciguatos and Sabanalamar rivers overflowed, affecting around 6,000 residents of this municipality in eastern Cuba.
Indira points toward the main road, about 40 meters from their home, on higher ground than the rest of the neighborhood. That’s where they went that morning to find safe shelter for themselves and their two children: a 3-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son with Down syndrome. “Other neighbors weren’t able to get out and had to climb onto rooftops to stay safe,” she says. All their belongings were submerged, as the water reached the ceiling of their home.
“When you have a child with special needs, you experience everything differently. For him, it was just another day—he was actually happy to be in the water. He didn’t really understand what was happening. Our daughter, though younger, did,” says their mother. “The days that followed were even harder because we had to stay at another family’s home, and routine is very important for him. We were in a different environment.”
Giovanni returned a few hours later—swimming back to the house. He reached the rooftop and from there assessed the damage. “That’s how high the water got—something we’ve never seen here before. After 11 a.m., the water level finally began to drop,” he recalls.
Among the first donations they received after the emergency was a hygiene kit provided by UNICEF.
“Everything in it was so useful. That donation came at a time when we didn’t even have a toothbrush. Our son isn’t toilet-trained, and hygiene is essential. We’re deeply grateful to everyone who, in one way or another, set aside their own needs to come help us,” says Giovanni.
In addition to the material losses caused by flooding, the storm also left a psychological impact on affected families. “Everything has been difficult. Our daughter didn’t want to return home—she said it looked ugly,” Indira says. “Our son used to play in the yard all the time, but we had to change that routine until the area was hygienic again.”
Indira and Giovanni know recovery will take time, but they draw strength from being together through good times and bad. While they speak to the UNICEF team during a field visit to affected areas in Guantánamo province, their daughter Analía smiles at our camera—and they celebrate that simple joy.
If there’s one thing the emergency taught them, it’s that the well-being of their children is like a master key that opens every door. It is what drives them as a family to keep moving forward, despite adversity.
