Chick, not a simple answer. First, many of the neediest Cubans we know don't have bank accounts so would not be able to cash a cheque. There is a way to put money directly into a Cuban bank account if you have their bank info and their personal ID #, but the admin and exchange fees are high. I'm not sure what the percentage is, but I'll wager a guess that after all of the fees, they would get about 75-80% of the cheque or money order.

Secondly, mail still gets opened en route...i.e., not everything we send makes it to the people we send it to. In fact, we've stopped sending care packages in the mail because the rates have gone way up and because the packages either don't make it intact or don't make it at all. That's expensive for us and disappointing to the people at the other end. We've been to the Cuban embassy to complain, and there have been improvements - my BIL still sends out about 40 packages a year and most of them make it, albeit usually with something missing. I think something gets removed in lieu of custom tax (which most of our Cuban friends wouldn't be able to pay, so perhaps they offer one of the items in the package as a bartering chip?)

At this time, if someone really wanted to get money into the hands of the people who need it, the best way would be to give it someone who's going there. If anyone really wants to contribute, I would make sure that any money sent to me would go in a special envelope and all contents of that envelope would make it directly into the hands of someone who desperately needs it, remembering that the bank and exchange rates will each take some of it.

I don't think you can exchange US dollars directly into Cuban pesos outside of Cuba. Cuba has two currencies, the tourist pesos for tourists and regular pesos for Cubans. Cubans cannot officially use the tourist pesos in most stores (but can and do use it on the black market).

As for mailing something light, do you mean to Cuba or to me? Mailing anything to Cuba is risky. If someone really wanted to mail something for us to take, here would be a few light ideas: packages of needles, thread (e.g., white, black, denim blue), underwear (all sizes), socks (all sizes, even toddler), safety pins, emery boards, disposable razors (men's and women's), small frisbees and hair thingies (scrungies, butterfly clips, etc). These are all things that we try to put in every bag, so need dozens of but rarely ever bring enough.

I just want to add that these are are the same sorts of things that are desperately needed in women's shelters and homeless shelters in everyone's own communities...it's okay to put together a bag or two of these things and take them to your nearest shelter instead of sending them to Cuba...