A Cuban resident abroad identified on TikTok as @evelynjaimec posted this Wednesday a heartfelt video on TikTok in which she recounts how, during a recent trip to Cuba, she decided to change her plans and distribute food to those in need alongside members of a Christian church, just after the total blackout that left the island without electricity for nearly 30 hours.
Evelyn recounted that she did not travel to Cuba with that intention. "I did not go to Cuba with the intention of doing it. In fact, I had other plans, but when I arrived and saw the reality up close, not the one they tell you about but the one that is experienced, something inside me changed," she wrote in the video's description.
The trip coincided with the general blackout in Cuba on March 16, when the National Electric System completely collapsed at 1:40 PM, leaving nearly 10 million Cubans without electricity for 29 hours and 29 minutes. It was the sixth national blackout in 18 months. "The day before, Cuba was completely in the dark, and many people hadn't eaten well, they had nothing to eat," Evelyn described.
Seeing the magnitude of the need, he teamed up with a local congregation and began distributing food. "At first, there were only a few, but then many more came than I imagined. And while I was doing all this, my heart couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed, wanting to cry, because it’s something I can’t quite explain," he recounted.
The author explicitly thanked those who supported her: "Thanks to the church and to the brothers and sisters who were present, because I didn’t do this alone. This is also what it means to live out an identity in Christ," she wrote in the video description, which gathered 3,688 views, 352 likes, and 36 comments.
Evelyn's actions take place against the backdrop of the worst humanitarian crisis Cuba has faced in decades. More than 70% of Cuban households have reduced the quantity or quality of food they consume, and 36% of the population suffers from food insecurity, according to the World Food Programme. The country imports between 70% and 80% of the food it needs, and domestic rice production barely meets 11% of the demand.
The crisis intensified since January 2026 with the collapse of the fuel supply, which brought agricultural machinery, transportation, and food distribution across the island to a standstill. According to data from this month, 80% of Cubans believe the current situation is worse than the Special Period of the 1990s.
"This journey taught me that purpose is not always about moving forward, but rather about stopping, looking at others, and deciding to serve," wrote Evelyn as she concluded the description of her video, in a phrase that summarizes what many Cubans in the diaspora feel upon returning and confronting the reality that the island faces today.
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