Duration - 8:46
[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

In the neighborhood of Arroyo Naranjo on the outskirts of Havana, a group of residents has come together to provide a space for children amid a severe economic crisis. Vida is a space dedicated to children, where they can learn, play and feel support in a place where opportunities are scarce.

Natalia Quintana, a meteorologist who founded the project, says conditions in Arroyo Naranjo were never good. But the situation now is worse than ever. “At this moment, we are on the verge of desperation,” she says.

Across Cuba, many people are navigating daily life under constant economic pressure, where decades of U.S. sanctions — tightened in recent years — have strained the country’s economy and causes severe scarcities.

Yet Natalia and her neighbors continue to organize, to teach and to create spaces that sustain their community — especially for its youngest members — striving for a future not defined solely by crisis.