Orlando Bello will turn 91 on Christmas Day. Born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, he lives alone in a cluttered North Miami apartment and hasn’t seen his wife or family in years, though he speaks with them by phone every day. Neither his air conditioning nor his stove works. He fractured his femur a year ago and can barely get around his tiny living room.

But he never grumbles or makes a fuss, says his niece, Hilda Luque, who lives in Gainesville.

“He’s never complained about not having any of that,” she says. “He has always worried about the needs of our family.”

Luque says that when they lived in Cuba, her uncle was constantly checking in on family members and making sure they had everything they needed.

Early in his life, Bello moved with his family across the island to Havana. In his teenage years, he simultaneously attended school and worked at a lawyer’s office as a typist.

“My parents always told me that I had no need to work,” he said. “I told them that I wanted to work and I promised them that I’d continue to go to school.”

He fell in love with a young woman, Argelia Herrera, who lived on the same street as the law office. Years later, the couple married and had three children: Isabel, Carlitos, and Beatriz Bello.

The 90-year-old was in his 20s when Fidel Castro took over. His wife and her co-workers were replaced at the National Bank. Though many dangers and challenges followed, Bello describes his life in Cuba as positive. He had his wife, kids, and other relatives on the island.

“The reality is that I was very happy in Cuba,” he said.

In 1980, Bello was making a living as a pharmacy clerk and taking care of his family when his older brother Oscar suddenly fell ill due to late-stage cirrhosis of the liver. Oscar was caring for their mother in Miami. She was battling breast cancer.

So Orlando made his way to the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, where he explained his family’s situation and was granted a visa to travel to Miami.

When he arrived in the United States, his brother had already passed away. He remembers going from the airport straight to his brother’s wake. Bello then became his mother’s caretaker and was granted U.S. residency.

Soon, he found a job through a friend of his brother as a supervisor at the Sheraton Bal Harbour. He worked there until 2007, when the management announced the building would be demolished and employees were all laid off. He was offered another position at a different location, but decided to retire. He believes he doesn’t speak enough English to work elsewhere.

Today, at 90, Bello is living in a one-bedroom apartment. His family would like to come to the United States, but has not been granted visas.

His circumstances got complicated years ago when his stove stopped working. He uses a small hot plate to heat his food. Then about two years ago, his air conditioner failed. He doesn’t have the money to replace either appliance.

“The retirement check that I receive is very small,” he said. “It is practically not enough for me at all.”

He has resorted to using a box fan and opening up all the windows and his balcony door. He sleeps in a reclining chair in the living room.

About a year ago, Bello fell in the lobby of his building and fractured his femur. His mobility became extremely limited and he needed help just to get around.

After his accident, his niece contacted the North Miami Foundation for Senior Citizens Service.

“I found an organization that is able to give him hot food every day,” said Luque. “That’s one of the most important things.”

It was the North Miami Foundation for Senior Citizens that nominated Bello for Wishbook. Alex Guillen is a social worker there.

“I think that he is a good person,” said Guillen. “He is very nice and very grateful. He is a person who needs help, who worked all of his life, and at this point in his life, he needs our assistance and I am really happy to serve.”

Guillen says Bello has no one to provide the assistance he needs physically or financially. From Wish Book this year, Bello would appreciate a new stove for his kitchen and a new AC unit.

How to help

To help this nominee and 150 others who are in need this year:

▪ To donate, use the coupon found in the newspaper or pay securely online through www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook

▪ For more information, call 305-376-2906 or emailWishbook@MiamiHerald.com

▪ The most requested items are often laptops and tablets for school, furniture, and accessible vans

▪ Read all Wish Book stories on www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook

This story was produced in conjunction with FIU’s South Florida Media Network