Hi, we’re Bee, Joia, Kat and Xio, four comrades engaged in shared political work seeking to deepen our practice of solidarity through a week-long international trip to the Caribbean!

You’re reading this now because you know at least one of us, but together we are four comrades who met through shared political work organizing Black and Latinx working class people in North Philly. As you can imagine, the work we do is not easy but we do it because we have an ever-growing, deep commitment to playing our part in producing a world free of exploitation and oppression. We’ve put in a lot of hours together- growing closer and deepening our comradeship, while always exploring ways to build together, strengthen our relationships, and increase our political development.

In pursuit of this, we’ve previously arranged our own development opportunities, including a collective Spanish language practice and a feminist study group. But we know there is a limit to what the 4 of us can do together, by ourselves. We need to be participating in broader opportunities beyond our small grouping. This is where you come in! We recently were accepted to participate in a week-long trip to Latin America where we, along with many other organizers doing similar work as us, will be studying and traveling together to increase our understanding of international conditions and what we, politically conscious folks in the US, can do to be in solidarity.

This trip will cost each of us $1,500 and would cover the cost of travel, lodging and food. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us and we’d like to do what we can to offset the financial burden of going. Travel for working class people is too often a luxury, and for the four of us, working at a non-profit means being underpaid and overworked for the ability to engage in political work, making the cost of trips like this even more taxing. Case in point, this will be the very first trip Bee will be taking internationally (and most of Joia, Kat and Xio’s travel was made possible through school or programs that supported the cost). We ask all of our friends, family and comrades to please help us make this trip a reality!

In order to secure our spots on the trip, we have already had to pay the cost of a deposit out-of-pocket, totalling $400. Additional installment deadlines for the trip are as follows: $2600 due on March 11th, and $3000 due on April 8th. These dates are quickly approaching, and we are hoping to raise funds as swiftly as possible as to minimize the amounts we will each have to front, and any personal hardships that might occur as a result.

The four of us are eager to engage in more immersive Spanish practice, strengthen our political analysis, practice solidarity and renew our own optimism of what is possible when we fight for a transformed society! As people who work and live in a majority Puerto Rican community in North Philly, we know increasing our understanding of Latin American politics, organizing and the impacts the US has had on Left movements is critical to building strong and connected work here, and makes us more readily able to connect with the direct and historical experiences our community has!

We deeply value each of your contributions to making this dream happen for us! We have increased our goal beyond the 6k that the trip will cost to account for fundraising fees. However, if you’re able and willing to donate to cover transaction fees, we’d be forever grateful and it would reduce our fundraising need!

In Solidarity,

Bee, Joia, Kat and Xio

Help Philly organizers travel internationally

By Bee, Joia, Kat, and Xio

Help Philly organizers travel internationally

Team Members