Humanitarian Aid for Migrants fund

Dear phenomenal humans,

For me, the story I want to convey to you starts here: once upon a time, a good portion of the southwest U.S. used to be Mexican territory,  But in 1848 Mexico lost 55% of its land to the U.S. via the treaty of Guadalupe de Hidalgo. (It is often worded that Mexico "ceded" its land. I say the U.S. stole it.) And now, the U.S. detains, assaults and criminalizes migrants daring to walk across this arbitrarily designated (and highly militarized) border - leaving the homes they love in order to seek resources necessary for them and their families to survive.  Take a look at the pre-1848 Mexico/U.S. border:
Since 1998, 2666 people have died crossing The U.S./Mexico border in and around the Arizona desert  where water is scarce and temperatures can climb over 100 degrees farenheit and dip down to 30 degrees all in the same day.  The graph below, published by the U.S. government, highlights the high proportion of desert deaths found in the Arizona sector in comparison to other sectors of the borderlands.

This December, I will be working with No More Deaths as a Desert Aid Volunteer, where I will colIaborate with other volunteers and organizers to provide aid by  hauling water, food and other supplies from base camp to stations along the border. We will also be trained to provide medical aid when necessary. (Here is a lengthy revealing article if you'd like to read a detailed account written by a seasoned NMD volunteer.)

No More Deaths/No Mas Muertes is a humanitarian organization based in southern Arizona whose mission is to end death and suffering in the Mexico-U.S. Borderlands through civil initiative: people working openly and in community to uphold fundamental human rights.

And this, my darlings, is where you come in. I'm hoping, via this campaign, to raise the funds needed to pay my volunteer fee, to transport me to Arizona and to provide me with a few supplies I'll need at base-camp. Anything you are able to contribute (honestly, anything), will be phenomenally helpful. And any funds raised beyond this goal will be donated to No More Deaths.

Here's the breakdown of the amount of money necessary to fund my participation and what that money will go to:
$375 month-long volunteer fee to No More Deaths (this helps sustain the volunteer program and goes into: car repairs, insurance, gas, food, medical supplies, food and water stock for aid stations).
$300 to travel to and from Arizona
$100 for a few camp supplies

As a white, raised lower-middle class, able-bodied and documented U.S. citizen, I’m not sure either “owing” or “responsibility” are the right words, but I have a sense that working with NMD will allow me a chance to offer allyship (to those caught in our immigration system ) and to take accountability (for living/participating in a system that benefits off those disadvantaged by the border ) . Will leaving water, food and providing medical aid end deaths along in the borderlands forever? As long as the system doesn't change, I don't think so. But I do hold a glowing hope that it will ease unnecessary suffering in the small ways that it can. (I imagine that, after hours or days of walking on raw blistered feet while suffering from the effects of severe dehydration, coming upon a gallon of clean water may be hope-fueling and life-saving.)

I am grateful to have the time and space to be able to offer my efforts this winter, and I am more grateful than you may ever know for your tender and generous kindness in making it possible for me to do so.

With deep and dazzling appreciation,

Franciszka