A 70-year-old Cuban named Olga shared a heartbreaking testimony when she encountered a person who gave her a donation.
"I didn't eat yesterday and today I'm going for the same thing. I feel like I could faint," he says in front of the camera with a mix of exhaustion and resignation.
The video was published by Sembrando Semillas Latam on Instagram, which documents cases of elderly individuals in Cuba to raise donations from the diaspora. In the clip, Olga describes a build-up of shortages that have become everyday realities for thousands of retirees on the island.
“It has been 15 days without electricity. My husband’s pension is 1,500 pesos. That’s approximately 3 dollars,” she recounts. On top of that, they have gone three days without water in their house, and she suffers from a leg condition for which she cannot afford treatment: “Do you know how much a pack of pills costs me? 600 pesos! Where am I supposed to get that from?”
Olga also mentions something that goes beyond her personal case: "Many older people are dying. Every day, three or four die."
At the end of the video, addressing those who send aid, he says: "Thank you so much, may God help and protect you so that you can protect us, as we are going through a very tough time."
A crisis that crushes an entire generation
The drama of miserable pensions and hunger that Cuban elders face worsens each month.
The regime increased the minimum pension to 4,000 Cuban pesos in September 2025, but at the informal exchange rate, that amounts to less than 10 dollars a month, while basic food needs require at least 30,000 pesos per month.
The electrical crisis exacerbates everything else. Cuba is experiencing deficits exceeding 2,000 MW in 2026, with blackouts in some areas lasting more than 20 hours a day. Since the water supply relies on electric pumping, prolonged outages leave entire families without access to this basic resource.
The Cuban state acknowledged in March 2026 that it does not have sufficient resources to support all vulnerable individuals.
The comments on Olga's video reflect outrage and pain. A user who emigrated from Cuba wrote: "Where I live, there are people who become depressed just from someone speaking loudly to them. If they knew what we go through back on the island and how tough it is, they would appreciate a little more what they have here."
Another person remarked, "Every time I see an elderly person in those conditions, my heart aches and it reminds me of my great-grandmother."
A 70-year-old Cuban grandfather with a pension of 4,000 pesos stated in June 2026 that with that amount, he cannot eat for the month.
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