Wherever I am most useful

Eliany Sarduy Aprea, professional cadre of the Young Communist League (UJC) in Cruces, province of Cienfuegos, is one of thousands of volunteers who have stepped forward to fight COVID-19 wherever they are needed and joined the Youth for Life brigades engaged in this effort across the nation.

"I started in February at the intensive care unit of a center for infected vulnerable individuals,” she told ACN, doing anything from cleaning, collecting clothes, disinfecting the premises, and assisting in the laboratory with the sterilization and washing of tubes and plates," she said.

“It was hard to see apparently healthy people coming in who were then diagnosed as serious cases. I remember that we all cried when we said goodbye to one of those patients; that memory still brings tears to my eyes, even if those experiences make me be better every day".

She also had some pleasant moments, for example, she left the ICU with an extended family. “We met there, but we supported each other, from assistants, service staff and secretaries to the nurses and doctors... I’m still in touch with them, and I ask about their loved ones and their patients and how they are doing.”

Eliany described her stay at that center as unforgettable because "it taught me to be a better person, more humane and supportive, with the values that this Revolution, Martí and Commander in Chief Fidel Castro instilled in me".

Proud of being able to do her bit in Cuba’s fierce battle against the coronavirus and of the gratitude of the “heroes in white coats”, this young woman who is barely 25 holds that she will offer her services again wherever her Homeland needs her to be.