cropped

Cuba (MNN) — After more than six months of a fuel blockade imposed by the United States, people in Cuba faces shortages not only of electricity, food, water, and basic daily supplies, but also of hope. 

“Everyone is looking for ways to cope with so many power outages, but the vast majority of Cubans are in a state of deep despair because they can’t even afford a little cold water to drink,” says Moisés Pérez Padrón, the director of RTM Cuba, a partner of Trans World Radio. 

“Food cannot be stored in refrigerators, and people have to live day to day, buying only what they will eat that day.”

Cuba’s entire power grid has collapsed six times since the fuel blockade began earlier this year. Padrón says it has become common for there to be electricity for only three or four hours a day. This often leaves people sleepless on these humid summer nights. 

One man told Padrón that “for two nights, when he took his mattress up to the roof to sleep and enjoy the cool night air, thieves tried to rob him and even stood right next to him while he slept.”

(Photo courtesy of TWR Bonaire)

“Thank God he was unharmed and suffered no material losses,” Padrón says.

The loss of electricity also derails normal work and family life routines. One brother told Padrón that “as soon as the power comes back on, even if it is in the early morning, he starts working until the blackout hits again.” 

Along with the blackouts, Padrón says the water supply has also been cut off for days.

“In some places and churches, there are cisterns. People go there to fill buckets and small water containers to carry the water back to their homes,” he says. “In Havana, there are places that go more than a week without receiving a single drop of water.”

The crisis facing Cuba is complicated, coming from more than just one underlying source. It is being made worse by the US blockade but also arises from decades of underinvestment by its leaders. 

Ask God to bring change to Cuba, especially spiritually. 

“People are looking to place their trust in something. We know and continue to proclaim that Jesus Christ is the answer,” says Padrón. 

Pray also for God to sustain believers in Cuba. “The saddest thing is seeing brothers and sisters in the faith who are suffering material hardship,” says Padrón. 

Pray for new ways for the RTM Cuba team to access electricity, maybe even through solar power. They work around outages to record new programs that speak biblical hope, but sometimes a lack of internet access prevents them from uploading the content. 

Padrón says the team hopes to travel outside of Havana in order to better connect with listeners in other provinces. Ask God to open the way for that to happen. 

“May God continue to use RTM in the faithful preaching of God’s word to keep blessing the Cuban people,” says Padrón.

 

Header photo of La Havane via Vince GX via Unsplash.