I had the great privilege of going to Havana, Cuba with UBELONG, an International Non Governmental Organization (NGO) which facilitates service learning and volunteering abroad for local development projects. A week before President Obama’s historic visit to meet with Raúl Castro, I was there to document the expedition of 30 Americans. It was a transformational trip because I was able to talk directly with Cubans. I was able to see a Havana already in transition to accommodate the influx of Americans. I saw first hand how people lived and heard how they felt about President Obama and the Rolling Stones' upcoming trip. More than anything, there was hope in the air.

In this short documentary, just days before President Obama’s historic visit to Cuba, a team of UBELONGers travelled to Cuba. The team came from the Prouty Project, a consulting firm from Minneapolis that exemplifies the best of responsible corporate citizenship. The trip was about connecting, sharing and giving a voice to everyday people from Cuba and the United States.

“UBELONG brought Lori on to film with us in Cuba, and she did a wonderful job. It was a challenging assignment with our schedule being tight, there being many places/people to film and Cuba itself being a challenging context, but Lori stepped up to the plate in a big way. From the video capture to the editing (this included music selection, which turned out great), she did a great job and delivered over 15 videos in a very reasonable amount of time. Lori was also a very easy professional to work with. I recommend Lori, she is a wonderful person and professional!”

— Cedric Hodgeman UBELONG Co-Founder