Ezequiel is just 10 years old and every morning he goes out to sell garlic and bread on the streets of Cuba to bring in some money for his mom and his siblings, in a story that was captured by content creator David Vela and has touched the hearts of thousands on social media.
When Vela found him shouting his wares—“Bread and the bread! Come here, daddy, just a moment”—the boy hadn't eaten a bite that day. When asked why he was selling, Ezequiel replied without hesitation: “To help my mom and my brothers.”
His father passed away, and the family survives without an adult provider. The bread being sold costs 100 pesos each, and every garlic sold represents a disproportionate effort for someone who should be in school or playing.
Vela accompanied the boy to his home, located in the Camposanto neighborhood. What he found upon arrival made the depth of the crisis evident: the family lives in an old warehouse that is at risk of collapsing, without proper divisions and with barely a fan as furniture.
"Look, this is where I live; this is a warehouse," Ezequiel explained while showing the space.
When asked what he would wish for if he could ask for anything, the boy replied, "To stay in a house, because this place is in danger of collapsing."
The housing situation of Ezequiel is not an isolated case. Cuba faces a deficit of over 900,000 homes, and in Havana, approximately 1,000 buildings collapse each year. Human Rights Watch documented in 2026 families living in schools and abandoned buildings under similar conditions.
It is not the only child working on the street. So far in 2026, cases of minors selling bread, coquitos, or polvorones to support their families have been documented, and the Cuban Conflict Observatory recorded 71 reports of child labor and begging just in 2025.
The figure contrasts with the official stance: on June 12, World Day Against Child Labor, the Union of Young Communists stated that "thanks to the Revolution, child labor is not a reality in our country," a statement that triggered a wave of criticism on social media.
Meanwhile, UNICEF reports that 9% of Cuban children suffer from severe food insecurity, and 33% of children under five experience moderate food insecurity. The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights estimates that 89% of Cuban families live in extreme poverty.
Vela shared the video with a direct call for solidarity: "The child needs clothes, he needs food, and his little house in a warehouse needs some improvements. If we could buy a house for the child, that would be ideal."
Those who wish to help Ezequiel can contact David Vela via WhatsApp at +53 55898008. "Let's help Ezequiel live a little more like the child he is and a little less like the adult that circumstances are forcing him to be," wrote the content creator in his post.
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