An elderly blind man who lives alone in San Rafael, Holguín, and whose situation of extreme hardship was reported a few days ago, has begun to receive help from neighbors and activists who are working on building a small space where he can live under better conditions.
The activist Ernesto Almaguer Díaz reported this Sunday in a Facebook post that several people have mobilized to help the man, while also questioning the authorities' response to his situation.
"Without the neighbors of this gentleman, he would have long since died of hunger and misery," stated Almaguer, who described the case as a example of "social abandonment".
According to a video explanation, thanks to the collaboration of Noly Blak, other individuals, and a humanitarian aid project led by Yamilet Toirac Lobaina, work is currently underway to build "a small room" for the elderly person, and some items have been acquired that will be delivered once the space is completed.
Almaguer contrasted that citizen mobilization with the funds that, he claimed, the municipal government had allocated to various projects carried out in the San Rafael Popular Council in connection with the celebrations for July 26.
According to their account, the government would have disbursed more than 200 million pesos, a figure that was close to 300 million, in payments to SMEs responsible for carrying out those projects.
«If the Government of Holguín spent more than 300 million or 200 and something, almost 300 million pesos on social works, what better social work than to build a small room with a bathroom and a kitchen for one of these people?» he questioned.
The elderly man had already been the subject of a public complaint about the conditions in which he was surviving in San Rafael. He lives entirely alone, is blind, and performs household tasks by feeling his way around.
Her home floods when it rains, and with no children or living relatives, she carries out every household task relying solely on her sense of touch.
When her situation was documented, she was sleeping on a board covered with cardboard, using a bucket as a toilet, and cooking in precarious conditions with exposed electrical wires.
During one of the visits, there was barely any rice and just a little flour that hadn’t been cooked due to a power outage.
Another issue reported is the cost of traveling to collect their pension. At that time, they received around 3,000 pesos monthly, but they had to spend up to 2,000 pesos on transportation to get to the place where they could withdraw the money, leaving them with barely a fraction to cover food and other basic needs.
"The revolution did not accompany him, the revolution left him alone", Almaguer stated during the video, holding state institutions accountable for not having addressed the conditions in which the elderly man lived.
Meanwhile, in San Rafael, it is the neighbors, activists, and private solidarity projects who are trying to improve the elderly man's conditions. "Thanks to all those who offered their help and love," Almaguer wrote while expressing gratitude to those who have gotten involved in the initiative.
The situation occurs in a particularly challenging context for the elderly in Cuba. Population aging, the decline in the purchasing power of pensions, the scarcity of food and medicines, and the emigration of family members have left many older individuals relying on neighbors, churches, and solidarity projects to meet basic needs.
In July, an analysis of the situation of older adults in Cuba indicated that 25.7% of the population was 60 years or older by the end of 2024 and highlighted how the insufficiency of pensions and the weakening of family networks have worsened the vulnerability of this group.
The authorities themselves have acknowledged the limitations of the assistance system. In March, officials from Labor and Social Security admitted that the available budget was insufficient to support all individuals deemed vulnerable, at a time when the demand for assistance was increasing.
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