Volunteers from Cáritas Cuba and the diocesan team of the Senior Citizens Program (PPM) of the Diocese of Matanzas organized an intergenerational meeting at the Elderly Home in the municipality of Limonar on Tuesday, bringing together children, teenagers, and young adults with the residents of that institution for an afternoon of music, dance, and testimonies.
The artist Pedro Javier Moreno was the host of the event, which began with a prayer and continued with songs from the youth of the elderly participants, who were invited to hum and dance in pairs with the younger attendees, creating a fusion of generations that the artist himself described as a caress to the soul.
"We could feel that during this intergenerational exchange, we reached the soul of the grandparents and the staff that assists them. I was moved by the testimony of one of the caregivers who confessed to feeling proud of looking after the well-being of the elderly because she did not have the privilege of taking care of her own parents. That woman thanked God for giving her the opportunity to offer her support and humility," Moreno recounted.
One of the most emotional moments was precisely the testimony of a domestic worker, who acknowledged that her daily work with the elderly fills the void of not having been able to accompany her own parents in their final years.
As a central activity of the meeting, the participants wrote down the feelings that emerged throughout the day on small hearts.
Happiness, affection, wisdom, and confidentiality were some of the terms noted, although the conclusion was unanimous: the most important quality of a home is love, "that love capable of turning anguish into hope and gifting an afternoon of memories to the grandparents of Limón," as stated in the chronicle by Lianet Fundora Armas published on the Cáritas Cuba website.
The activity is part of the PPM, which in the diocese of Matanzas combines social dining, home visits, spiritual support, and cultural gatherings for the most vulnerable seniors.
The work of these organizations is particularly significant in a country where aging in Cuba has become a drama, exacerbated by pensions that are insufficient to cover food, housing, or medications: a survey of 506 retirees revealed that 99% of them find themselves in this situation.
At the end of 2024, 25.7% of the Cuban population was 60 years old or older, exceeding 2.5 million people, and it is projected that this proportion will reach 30% by 2030.
In the face of this accelerated aging, the state system has only 156 nursing homes across the country, with a total of 12,697 beds, while 51 municipalities lack any services for the elderly, making initiatives like that of Limonar an essential support for those who need it most.
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