Gift: Football kits to say thanks after illness

A Stornoway man who suffered a bout of ill health on holiday is paying back the kindness of strangers by sending more than 100 football strips to children in Cuba.

Donald “Donnie Maroot” Macleod will make sure the many football strips he has been donated will be given to the children who play football on the streets in the country’s capital.

Mr Macleod said: “I was over in Havana in September and I was blown away by the beauty of the country.

“When I was there I got a stomach bug.”

Mr Macleod, who was travelling alone, said: “On the third day I knew I would have to try and eat something so I went to a café and ordered soup.

“But there was just no way I could eat it.

“When the owners found out, they got medicine for me, and from then on looked out for me. I was very, very grateful.

“People in Havana seem very, very happy, but are also very poor.

“I didn’t know how I was going to be able to repay the kindness of all these strangers until I saw the children playing football on the street.

“I had 10 football strips with me, so I washed them and took them out on to the street to dry them.

“Ididn’tknow howIwasgoing tobeabletorepay the kindness”

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“One boy approached me and asked me for one, and I gave them away.

“When I came home I started an appeal for football strips – I got lots of Rangers strips, and Celtic gave me some new strips but I got some from all over the world, including Ross County.”

Mr Macleod has used the Glasgow Havana Film Festival taking place in the city this week to begin to hand over some of the strips.