When the Water Stops: One Cuban Woman’s Fight to Care for Her Family
For many of us, getting water is as simple as turning on a faucet. We use what we need without giving it a second thought. But for many families in Cuba, access to clean, running water has become a daily struggle.
Across Cuba, communities are facing severe water shortages as fuel shortages, prolonged power outages, and aging infrastructure disrupt the systems that deliver water to homes and apartment buildings.
When water no longer comes from the tap, families must find another way to meet one of their most basic needs. Some travel to a community well. Others depend on a local church or wait for water deliveries. For those who can afford it, buying water may be an option. But for families already struggling financially, that expense can become overwhelming.
For Maria*, the situation became too difficult to manage.
Maria cares for her 80-year-old mother while facing the same challenges that affect so many families around her. Without reliable water in her home, she had been purchasing water to meet their daily needs. But water is expensive, and continuing to buy enough for her family and her mother was becoming increasingly difficult.
Eventually, Maria reached a point where she could no longer afford to depend on purchased water. With the help of friends, she made the difficult decision to dig a well of her own.
Think about what that means. Rather than simply turning on a faucet in her kitchen, Maria had to find the strength, resources, and help necessary to create another source of water for her household. While also caring for her elderly mother, she faced a problem that no family should have to struggle with alone.
Maria’s story is one example of what families across Cuba are experiencing. The ongoing energy crisis has made an already difficult situation worse. Electricity is needed to operate water pumps, and fuel shortages have disrupted both pumping stations and water deliveries. At the same time, aging pipes and deteriorating infrastructure mean that precious water can be lost before it ever reaches the people who need it.
The consequences extend far beyond inconvenience. Water is essential for drinking, preparing food, bathing, cleaning, and protecting our health. When access becomes uncertain, every part of daily life is affected. Families must decide how to use what little water they can obtain and how to stretch it until they can find more.
For elderly people, those with health challenges, and families caring for loved ones, the burden can be especially heavy.
At Missions Everywhere, we believe that every person matters. We see the needs of the people we serve, and we know that behind every crisis are individuals and families doing everything they can to get through another day.
Maria’s story reminds us not to take the simplest necessities of life for granted. Water is something most of us expect to have whenever we need it. For Maria and many others in Cuba, obtaining it requires extraordinary effort.
We share these stories because the needs are real, and because we believe compassion should move us to action. We want people to understand what families are facing and to remember those who are struggling with circumstances far beyond their control.
This is why we continue to go to Cuba, to bring needed Items like medicine, glasses, and solar fans and lights. Sometimes, the things we take for granted are the very things another family is fighting hardest to obtain. We also go so that the people of Cuba know that they are not forgotten.
We have changed *Maria's name because we know her personally and want to protect her privacy. She has been an Incredible support and partner to those of us who travel to Cuba.
Missions Everywhere will be returning to Cuba in December. Would you prayerfully consider supporting our upcoming trip? Your prayers and generosity will help us bring hope, encouragement, and the love of Christ to families in need during the Christmas season.
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