Junax is defined by three important areas that are its raison d'être: collective life; the lodging and coexistence of volunteers in the same space; links with civil society organizations and accompaniment of communities.
Strengthening this first area of our work is fundamental; since Junax seeks to create a space not only where all volunteers live in cooperation, but also where values are forged; values that arise from collective life and have an immense impact on the participation of volunteers in their projects. Here ideas, goals, dreams are forged; they are translated into initiatives, proposals and changes that energize life in the house and give deeper meaning to the stay of each volunteer. The creation of programs such as Oye Compa, an alternative news outlet run entirely through the collaboration of Junax volunteers, is proof of this.
Collective living in Casa Junax promotes empathy, solidarity, and engagement with the social context that surrounds us. This leads to action and to various campaigns: on humanitarian issues, forced displacements, defense of the territory, migrant caravan, among other causes. Living collectively also promotes the sharing of food, clothing and medicines to meet specific needs. Volunteers care for eachother while supporting the broader community, through the dissemination of events, demonstrations, struggles for human rights, campaigns for the release of political prisoners, and press conferences for those in resistance. Junax shares these causes and involves volunteers, while also making available the means for support when support is needed.
Offering the capacity to house 32 volunteers from different corners of the world who can turn Junax into their home is one of our main objectives. This is the beginning of the journey for each volunteer, who arrives at Junax with the hope and willingness to contribute their time, skills and knowledge and to leave a mark that is imprinted through the work they do. And finally, the labor and experiences of each volunteer have an impact on the organizations, people, and populations with which they work.
Many come to Junax in a moment of personal search and reflection; and each path is enriched by having contact with other environments and coworkers of different nationalities, each one with his or her own life stories. However, each volunteer touches the same reality of struggle in Chiapas, and each shares what has brought them here with the community. Volunteers become companions, friends, brothers and sisters.
Junax wants this atmosphere of collective living to be a space to learn and unlearn, through workshops on political formation and human rights, and participation in different activities both inside and outside the house. Junax is the headquarters, offering a space for reflection, dialogue and exchange. This is where the real impact of the volunteers emerges, in their collaboration, which is the most significant contribution to surrounding territories and populations.
In addition to equipping and adapting the spaces of the house, which deteriorate through use over time, we seek the practical functioning of the coexistence between the volunteers, creating awareness of how to care for resources and cultivate respect for all. By covering the needs of this first area-the needs of the house and collective living--Junax can give the necessary push to establish connections to organizations and accompaniment, so that the project continues moving forward, alive and in motion.
