Aurora del Carmen Frías Suárez was raised by her grandparents. From them, she keeps memories, anecdotes and teachings. Perhaps because of that mark that keeps when growing among those of "ashes hair" she has understood so well with the marriage of Rosa Emilia and Elio and with Juan and Joaquin. 

"When they see me they are happy and wait for me with open doors. Every day I get up with the desire to feel useful because I see that these old people need it and as they need me, no matter how I am, I go.”

For Aurora, joining the army of the people of Las Tunas that in these months has supported the System of Attention to the Family (SAF) has meant a revelation of dedication and love. Every day she arrives at the unit located in the El Oriente marketplace, in the Aguilera neighborhood of the capital city, with the certainty that in the face of adversity, solidarity unites us and makes us virtuous, better.

"When the illness began, they proposed that we help these old people. You think you have problems but when you see them, you realize what is happening. For me it has been very beneficial and besides, it is better to help others than to be at home, so I keep myself busy. I really feel satisfied because I know I am useful," she says.

In a little more than three months, she has been getting to know "her old people" and for them, she reserves cuddles and affection; it will be for that reason that Rosa Emilia says she will miss her and Juan waits for her every morning to know what news Dr. Durán has said.
Aurora tells these stories with simplicity and the humility of the common people. At home her husband applauds her and she offers her applauses who have cared for both the sick and the healthy in this battle.

"I get excited when I applaud the doctors, it makes me happy. I say: ‘Thanks to the Cuban doctors.’ Thanks to them this pandemic is coming to an end. I would like one day to hear Dr. Duran say that we don't have any positive cases.”

YUSMARY, OF THE VIRTUES OF USEFULNESS

Yusmary Rivero Leyva also knows well about those tasks that enlarge the spirit and nourish the soul. Of the usefulness of virtue, and of the virtues of usefulness she can testify in these days. In the same way, she joined in the noble endeavor of reaching out from the SAF in the El Oriente marketplace to a home in need of support.

"Rain, thunder or lightning here we are...Mother's Day, my birthday or my daughters' ...it's true that sometimes it's a bit tiring, but it's a beautiful and rewarding job because you know you're doing something useful. It's been a beautiful experience and it fills me with joy to be able to help these people and the government."

She says that Jorge, the first of the five grandparents she visits, is very loving and attentive. Ernesto always asks her about her family. Ana María and Karel, mother and son, are interested in the country's events and the evolution of the pandemic; while Aleida has not seen her, because a relative always receives the food for her.

Yusmary knows that life is made up of small and big acts. She thinks that the good that is given is returned and that now, later or at some future time one of her own, one of her dearest affections, may need and receive help; be the object of an act of humanity like the one she and Aurora are engaged in.

ALEJANDRO, EXPERIENCES IN SOCIAL WORK

The COVID-19 changed the practices of many, including Alejandro Pablo Fernández Nieto, an industrial engineer who works at the Provincial Directorate of Labor and Social Security.

"I am assigned in the Nuevo León SAF and I take lunch and dinner to three elderly people: Rodrigo, Alfredo and a lady known in her community as Cuca. In the Directorate of Labor, my activity is related to the attention to the population and it is not the same to listen to the cases as to clash with reality and see the needs. From there on, the vision grows and changes," says the young man.

Alejandro has just finished his training period but he is already a reserve of the Assistant Director of Prevention and Social Assistance. So, while he is training on issues and legislation related to sickness or accident benefits, total or partial disability pensions, protection for working mothers and other provisions on the subject and situations of various kinds, he touches first-hand the reality of the most vulnerable.

"This time has also enabled me to learn more about the work of social workers who, in addition, help in other tasks such as buying medicines. Social work is heir to the teachings of the Revolution, a sign of human solidarity and sensitivity," he says.

LÁZARO, WORKING IS ALWAYS THE OPTION

The COVID-19 pandemic also "took" the more than 25,000 non-state workers in Las Tunas out of their daily lives. More than 9,000 of them temporarily suspended their activities at their own request or due to government indications, in view of the adverse scenario caused by the danger of the new coronavirus.

Lázaro Piñón González, a manufacturer and seller of light foods, was among those who had to "put their kiosks to sleep". Then uncertainty overtook him: father of a family, with two young daughters, an older adult in his care... six in total in his home.

"What to do?" he thought. Staying home from work was not an option so he sought information and employment. He even arrived to the Municipal Labor Office, but he could not find a location; neither could he find a place in the commercial and gastronomic network where he went later. He was not satisfied, and between the possibility of financial aid and the appearance, at last, of an employment option, he chose the second one. And there he is, as a security and protection agent at the headquarters of the Provincial Labor Department.

"I like it and I feel responsible for this work I'm doing now, besides I am calm because I know I'm guaranteeing the family's sustenance", Lazaro says.

For now, his plan is to keep occupying this position; perhaps, in the future, he will alternate both activities. Although he knows that this moment will come when the province and the country move on to other stages and he can, again, commercialize the tasty Eastern Pru, the potato-cassava and the corn fritter in the public streets.

For now, Lázaro, like Aurora, Yusmary and Alejandro, enjoys the well-being of feeling useful in pursuit of not only a personal but also a collective good. Their stories demonstrate the virtues of usefulness.