West Sussex NEU delegate and Camelsdale Primary School teacher Tom Chitty has turned his passion for music into a lifeline for blind children in Cuba. By hand-building and selling guitar effects pedals, he has helped fund braille machines for rural Cuban schools, allowing visually impaired children to start education two years earlier than before.

His efforts are part of West Sussex NEU’s broader solidarity with Cuban education. In October, NEU delegates delivered one of 17 braille machines funded through these sales, along with a class set of donated violins, school stationery, and letters from local children as part of the Viva La Educación campaign.

Despite the initiative’s success, fundraising has faced obstacles. Other NEU delegates raising money for braille machines have had accounts frozen and campaigns delisted due to US sanctions on Cuba. The embargo continues to make essential equipment prohibitively expensive.

Tom Chitty, Camelsdale Primary School teacher and West Sussex NEU delegate
Tom Chitty, Camelsdale Primary School teacher and West Sussex NEU delegate (Photo supplied)

These restrictions have intensified in recent months under the Trump administration. Meaning financial transactions to Cuba have become even more difficult, blocking vital humanitarian efforts and further isolating the country from the global banking system.

The sanctions have worsened Cuba’s existing economic crisis, leading to energy shortages, blackouts, and medical supply shortages.

Chitty, who is leading NEU’s motion condemning Cuba’s inclusion on the US State Sponsors of Terrorism list, said: “Cuba’s education system remains a source of global inspiration, prioritising educators over CEOs and ensuring access to quality learning despite immense economic barriers.”

The NEU delegation also visited isolated rural schools where they saw classes as small as four, each with their own teacher—compared to West Sussex, where combined classes are the norm.

Children at a rural primary school in Viñales, Pinar del Río, holding letters from Camelsdale Primary School
Children at a rural primary school in Viñales, Pinar del Río, holding letters from Camelsdale Primary School (Photo supplied)

Mike Spain, District Secretary for West Sussex NEU said: “It’s this focus on elevating entire communities through education and healthcare that makes Cuba’s educational model so admirable. We are proud to maintain our solidarity link because Cuba’s approach to education is not just about learning – its about uplifting society as a whole.

“However the lives of the Cuban people have been used as a political football by US politicians. Here, education gets the same treatment – the unfunded pay offer proposed by our government, framed as ‘just the start of the process,’ only deepens uncertainty in a profession already in crisis. That’s not how you lift children and communities.”

West Sussex NEU has also been campaigning on women’s issues under the banner ‘West Sussex Women Wunt Be Druv’ – a nod to Sussex’s unofficial motto, meaning “we will not be pushed around.”

Yasmine Talebian, a West Sussex NEU officer, said: "Too many women leave teaching because the system isn’t designed for working parents. Schools reject flexible work requests or push returning mothers into unsuitable roles. Instead of retaining experienced staff, they’re driving them out.”

For West Sussex NEU, the message is clear – whether in Havana or Horsham, education should never be a battleground.

West Sussex NEU has now committed £350 to Cuba Vive for an Essential Medical Supplies kit, countering the devastating impact of US sanctions. Donations can be made at www.cubavive.com