“We are neither more nor less; we are equal,” said Yadis Daniela Corrales Torres with evident determination when we pointed out the preeminence of girls over boys among veterinary students in a scientific society at the Montecristi Agricultural Polytechnic Institute (IPA in Spanish) in this municipality in southern Las Tunas.

Jobabo, Las Tunas.- Her confidence is the best proof that the drive for research and renewal noted by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez when he visited the center four months ago has not waned.

The two wells promised in the presence of the president for the stable supply of water to the school's cultivated areas were completed, confirmed Víctor Torres Peña, vice director of Professional and Vocational Training. Now, he added, they are in the process of installing the irrigation equipment they already had, as well as the electrical wiring. “This will guarantee water for the 22 hectares where we grow cassava, plantains, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, and corn,” he said.

The guarantee of this precious liquid is only the impetus for more, Torres Peña pointed out, as they are busy completing the pit that will enable the veterinary clinic to reach its full potential and finish the soil laboratory. “It is the 100th project for Fidel's 100th birthday,” he said. “All of them,” he emphasized, “are related to the productive area, but above all, to the professional training of students, because they benefit all the specialized fields prioritized in the agricultural branches: agronomy, veterinary zootechnics, and mechanization.”

LEARNING BY DOING

The IPA Agroindustrial Projects scientific society is not only made up of veterinary students like Yadis. It brings together practically all the specialties studied at the institution, in an interesting articulation of knowledge.

That is why the work being done is also good news for a young woman who, with her particular “manifesto” of gender equality that we would like to see more of, showed with visible pride her skills in administering medication to puppies. “We have to deworm them and give them vitamins for their immune system,” she said.

She was equally clear about her feelings about studying at the “Manifiesto de Montecristi”: “We are pleased to be here because we know that they teach us, that the teachers sacrifice themselves to give us their knowledge, and that means a lot to me; I am very grateful.”