Hello, community!
I’m sure that at some point, many of you have asked yourselves whether our lives have a purpose. Personally, I’ve asked myself that question countless times. How do we give meaning to this brief journey we have on Earth? How do we make the most of the time we’re given to create a positive impact on ourselves and those around us? These thoughts are constantly on my mind.
My name is Carlos, and I live in the city of Holguín. I’m an investment specialist working on projects related to Renewable Energy Sources. If you live in Cuba, you might assume my work involves assembling and installing Photovoltaic Solar Parks (PSPV), but that’s not quite the case—my work goes a bit further. You see, in Cuba, statistics show that a significant number of families still lack access to electricity. Others only have it for short periods during the day, and often, the quality is very poor. These families, as you can imagine, live in rural areas, sometimes extremely remote, where the national power grid simply cannot reach. My job is to bring clean energy to these families, and thanks to support from various countries, this is becoming a reality.
Through the use of Autonomous Photovoltaic Solar Systems (APVS), we’ve been able to benefit over a thousand families in the province of Holguín. It may sound technical or professional, but behind every installation, there’s a story—many stories, in fact—and I’d like to share the ones that have impacted me the most.
When you arrive in a community that has never seen electric power, you realize how resilient humans are and how they adapt to their environment. Using firewood and charcoal to cook, washing clothes in rivers or reservoirs, spending nights in darkness, working tirelessly, the sweat of farmers toiling the land—these are traditions passed down from generation to generation. And perhaps, living in the city, we forget that many of the foods we consume come from the efforts of these very people.
Mirtha is a woman over 65 who lives with her husband, who is ill. Her story is incredible. This warrior spent most of her life as a teacher, dedicated to helping others through her work and her desire for a better world. She lived in the city until retirement, when she and her husband decided to move to the countryside to cultivate the land and raise animals for their own consumption and to supply the local community. That’s how she spent her recent years—leaving behind the comforts of urban life to continue contributing, not from a classroom, but from the soil.
However, life in the countryside was never easy. From the moment she arrived, she realized there was no electricity, and that her dream of having it would take time. Still, she chose to stay. This required a major shift in her lifestyle, as she had to adapt to very different conditions. She managed to cultivate a plot of land large enough to meet her needs and sell produce to the community—from root vegetables to fruit trees, and animals like cows, goats, and sheep for meat and other products. Although Mirtha wanted to do more, the lack of electricity kept her from reaching her goals.
She always dreamed of making jams, juices, yogurt, and cheese to sell, but without refrigeration, it was impossible. She had a television, a radio, and a fan at home, but couldn’t use them. Still, she held onto hope that electricity would come one day. And it did: when we told her that her home would be equipped with an APVS and that she would have electricity 24 hours a day, the tears she shed were a testament to her joy and emotion after waiting so long. I remember she offered us a delicious lemonade—though she said it tastes better cold.
Once the APVS was installed, Mirtha and her husband’s lives changed dramatically. Her television miraculously worked, as did her fan. They immediately set goals to buy cooking appliances, a refrigerator, and more. With help from her son, she installed a small irrigation system for her crops and began working toward her dreams—producing goods from fruits and animal products. On my last visit, I finally got to enjoy a properly chilled lemonade, and her face radiated unmatched joy. She told me she had come to terms with the idea that she would never have what she now does.
Today, Mirtha and her husband have electricity in their home—clean and inexhaustible. The fulfillment of making a positive impact in people’s lives helped me realize that this is my life’s purpose. Seeing the transformation in the lifestyle not only of Mirtha but of many families fills me and my colleagues with happiness, because we bring joy to people who once believed they would never have it.
What’s your purpose in life? Leave me a comment if you’ve already found yours.
With love,
Carlos