By With its colorful buildings, vibrant culture and rich history, Cuba is a country with many stories to tell. Twenty-four students and three teachers from Middle College, an alternative high school in Los Altos Hills, are ready to listen.

The group will be in Cuba March 31 to April 7, on a “Reality Tour,” organized by Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based non-profit public education organization and a licensed travel service provider to Cuba.

The group will deliver medical aid, learn about organic farming, immerse themselves in Cuban culture, and plan to capture it all in a documentary.

The students, who range in age from 16-18, have raised $18,000, for the trip.

“We have held garage sales, concerts, dinners, poetry readings, and the kids have written friends and family for donations,” said Paula McAvoy, a U.S. history and American government teacher going to Cuba.

“We are bringing soap, medical aid, over-the-counter-medications, glucose monitors, all of which were donated,” McAvoy said. “We can bring in 10 pounds of aid per person, so we are doing just that.”

Also accompanying McAvoy are fellow teachers Mike Wilson, a literature teacher, and Seth Donnelly. Donnelly, a social studies teacher, had gone to Cuba with a youth group previously in 1994.

“There are accute shortages in Cuba, primarily due to U.S. blockades, especially of things like antibiotics,” Donnelly said. “The blockades don’t even allow aspirin. We aren’t just going to Cuba to learn but to offer our support.”

The main emphasis of the tour is for each student to experience daily life in the host country. The students will be visiting elementary schools, hospitals, community organizations and organic farms.

“A semi-emphasis is going to be placed on learning about organic agriculture, as 70 percent of food in Cuba is organically produced,” McAvoy said.

“Cuba has a really innovative organic gardening system. Cuba’s ecological and sustainable agricultural development is pioneering a path for the rest of the world to follow.” Donnelly said.

Bridging the gap between Cuba and the rest of the world is yet another goal for this trip.

Richard Pereira, a senior, is taking his camera with him to take black and white photos. “I want to capture the feeling of the people. I want to show that people there are people just like us.”

The students will be documenting their trip on video and plan to edit and produce it themselves, to use as a learning tool for others.

“It is our hope that teams of students will present the video at community centers, churches and schools, to educate and raise awareness,” Donnelly said. “We want to foster more people to people relations with Cuba.”

“I think traveling to see a world outside your own is an amazing learning experience. Especially for the kids to meet people who have had an historical fear around their country,” McAvoy said.

Pereira hopes their video will possibly change the way people think about the country.

“I hope people learn to shake off their misinformation about Cuba, all the myths about it - and open their eyes to all the creativeness and beauty of the culture.”

For more information,call Middle College at 949-4659.