A solidarity initiative provides lunches to elderly individuals admitted to the Guillermo Domínguez López General Teaching Hospital in Puerto Padre, in Las Tunas, who have no family to care for them or bring them a meal.
The Cuban resident in the U.S., Ania Aguilera documented the work on her Facebook profile with several posts showing visibly malnourished elderly people, in beds with worn-out mattresses and peeling walls.
Among the cases that Aguilera made public is that of a man named Milán, who was admitted to that hospital with liver cirrhosis and without any family member to assist him.
"For those who know Milán, and for those who do not: he is currently hospitalized in Puerto Padre. He has no family to assist him, he is going through a very difficult situation, and he is suffering from liver cirrhosis," Aguilera wrote in one of his posts.
The call for solidarity was direct: "It doesn't take much; when many people contribute their bit, a lot can be accomplished."
The images sparked a wave of reactions among Cubans both on and off the island. User Luis Rene Gonzáalez Vera wrote: "Small gestures, but ones that are truly appreciated. Blessings!!!" User Alsestis Rodríguez was more emphatic: "An elderly man who, only God knows, fought and dedicated part of his life for Cuba, and now sees the conditions he is in—it's sad, and there are millions like him who don’t even have a salary."
The hospital where these incidents occur has accumulated multiple complaints so far in 2026. Just days before these reports, the facility reported a new outbreak of bedbugs in its psychiatry ward, the second in less than three months. In February, the lack of an operational electrocardiogram was reported, and in April, warnings were issued about a severe crisis in the hemodialysis service with broken machines, a lack of medications, and a shortage of staff.
The plight of these elderly individuals is not an isolated case. The official minimum pension in Cuba is 4,000 Cuban pesos per month, equivalent to less than 10 dollars on the informal market, while meeting the basic needs of a person would require around 96,060 CUP per month, of which 70,070 would be just for food.
A survey conducted by the Independent Union Association of Cuba on 506 retirees across five provinces concluded that 99% state their pension is insufficient for food, housing, or medication. 79% of those over 70 years old are unable to eat three times a day, according to data from independent surveys cited in 2026.
The massive exodus of young Cubans has left thousands of elderly individuals without a family support network, making initiatives like that of Caridad and her collective in Puerto Padre one of the few real mechanisms for survival for those whom the State has abandoned to their fate.
"Cuba hurts, and our elders need us," wrote Ania Aguilera at the end of one of her posts.
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