Canadians on humanitarian mission in Cuba say citizens ‘exhausted’ amid blackout – National
Two Canadians on a humanitarian mission in Cuba say it’s easier for locals to count the number of hours the lights are on than to turn them off.
And when the power goes out, Leanne Isaak says Cubans seem to be scrambling to do as many tasks as possible, such as cooking, charging phones, washing and filling buckets with water.
“People say, ‘I might not have energy again for three days so I’m going to do everything I need to do in this one or two hour period to prepare for the next part of the time when I’m going to try to continue,'” said Isaak, founder and director of the non-profit organization One Shared Future Un Futuro Compartido.
“In Spanish they say, ‘We don’t have blackouts, we turn on the lights,’ because (they) are in the dark more often than there is electricity,” added Elise Hjalmarson, who is also the director of the non-profit organization.
The women, who live in Kelowna, BC, arrived in Cuba on Friday with 14 suitcases full of medicine, sunscreen, multivitamins, adult diapers, surgical gloves and menstrual products, among other goods.
In an interview they had in Havana on Saturday, they said they plan to find a driver with an electric car and, in cooperation with groups led by Cuba, distribute these items on the island for several days. They also plan to buy rice and beans with the donation money to distribute.
“Some of this goes to hospitals, to women’s centers.
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Life on the Caribbean island has been deteriorating rapidly since the US ousted Venezuela’s leader in January, halting critical petroleum exports to the nation close to Havana. US President Donald Trump also threatened taxes on any country that sells or supplies Cuba with oil.
The island has since relied on its natural gas, solar power and oil to run thermoelectric plants, but that has not been enough to meet demand.
Isaac and Hjalmerson said they encountered a difficult situation when they first arrived. There was a power outage at the airport. They heard a buzzer and a generator, and the belt carrying their bags started moving minutes later.
“Then we had a power outage in the evening when we arrived at our Airbnb, then we had another one in the morning, so you can see what happened. This part of the city, almost a year ago, could cut off little by little,” said Isaak, who has traveled to Cuba about a dozen times for his work to help the poor.
The women said they carried all their 14 suitcases up many stairs because there was a malfunction that stopped the elevator in the building where they live.
Many of the country’s 11 million residents are struggling to keep food from spoiling. Hospitals canceled the operation. A leading university has cut classes due to power outages and transportation shutdowns.
Trump wants, in part, for Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel to step down, release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization to lift sanctions.
After the power grid collapsed in Cuba last week, causing a blackout across the island, Trump told reporters that he believed he would soon “have the honor of taking over Cuba.”
Aid shipments are beginning to arrive and deliveries of Russian oil are expected this month, but fuel shortages remain critical.
Isaac said the challenges he and Hjalmerson are facing are not comparable to those faced by the Cuban people.
“People are tired, frustrated, depressed. There is a lot of uncertainty,” said Isaak. “Most of them, when they describe how they feel, they say it’s heavy.”
And Cubans survive by finding joy in everyday life, he said.
“We were walking at two o’clock in the morning and people were out playing dominoes in the street. There was still music, people were dancing,” said Isaac.
“Some Cubans hate the word tough, but they are incredibly tough people and they find joy in being together.”
The process of distributing items over the next few days sounds very strange, added Isaac.
“But we’re excited to be here, and get started.”
© 2026 The Canadian Press
