Summer is almost here, but it’s not too late to sign-up for the trip of a lifetime! There’s no need to shelve that tour you wanted to take but never got around to planning.

We have three life-changing Reality Tours planned for June and July, and we have space for you.

Learn about the Indigenous rights movement in Chiapas, Mexico. Experience the beautiful highlands and Amazon of Ecuador, while meeting with local communities working for social and environmental justice. Learn about the newest wave of popular struggle in Haiti, as hundreds of thousands of Haitians put their lives on the line to build an inclusive, equitable, just, and sustainable Haiti.

This summer, see the world, meet the people, learn the facts, make a difference!

We hope you’ll join us!

Chiapas: Indigenous Rights & Environmental Justice

July 1 – 9, 2019

Travel to Chiapas to learn about one of the most successful Indigenous rights movements in the Americas – the Zapatista uprising and its ongoing struggle for Indigenous autonomy. From a base in the colonial town of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, we will travel to surrounding communities to speak with indigenous leaders, artists, educators, and students. This delegation will also include a focus on the ways in which Mexico’s criminal justice system disadvantages Indigenous women and the collectives fighting back; on new and intensified environmental assaults; and on U.S. bound migration from Central America through Chiapas.

Ecuador: Social and Environmental Justice from the Andes to the Amazon

July 12 – 20, 2019

Travel to the Ecuadorian highlands and the Amazon basin for a deep-dive into grassroots, Indigenous, and women-led efforts to resist the exploitative toxic practices of extractive industries. You will be introduced to some of the most successful local and international efforts to bring environmental and social justice to the Andes and the Amazon while enjoying Ecuador’s rich biodiversity and cultural traditions.

Haiti’s Popular Uprising: A Call for International Solidarity

June 2 – 11, 2019

Hundreds of thousands of Haitians have taken to the streets in mass mobilizations demanding accountability from Haiti’s political class accused of squandering billions of dollars in proceeds from Venezuela’s discounted PetroCaribe oil program. Chanting “we are hungry, we can’t take it anymore,” protesters are demanding that the thoroughly corrupt and fraudulently elected president, Jovenel Moise, resign immediately. Their demands have been met with vicious repression. It is an urgent moment for international solidarity to break the silence around Haiti. Join us on this timely trip where we will meet with a range of local Haitian citizens and organizations stepping up against tremendous adversity to build an inclusive, equitable, just, and sustainable Haiti.

Patty Idler with Shop Keeper in Kabul

Patty Idler with Shop Keeper in Kabul

One of my favorite parts about working with Reality Tours is listening to past participants reflect on their experiences when they come back to the U.S.

Are you a past Reality Tours participant with a story to tell? Share in the comments below or visit our Share Your Story page. And as Global Exchange celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year, share your memories and experiences of Global Exchange with us as we celebrate our past and look forward to the future.

Here are a few of our favorite Reality Tours stories:

Patty and Randy Idler in Afghanistan: “The driver and guide you sent asked if we minded if they brought their kids. It was wonderful. We saw more of Afghanistan than we saw with other guides or on our own. We met our cobblers. We met Afghans everywhere.”

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Students in North Korea

Jeremy Jimenez in North Korea: “There were no lack of spontaneous moments that enabled us to see North Koreans as individuals in their own right.  When telling a cashier at a rest stop, upon being asked, that I was a teacher, she told me that I ‘have wasted my life…..(I) should have been a film star.'”

Paul Prew in Ecuador: “In the film Crude, I saw a number of the same people, organizations, and locations featured in the movie that I visited on the Global Exchange tour.  I was impressed with the ability of Global Exchange to plug us into a variety of social movements and organizations.  As an educator at a state university, I use the experience every term in a number of my courses.”

Take Action

Take Action

What’s your Reality Tours story? Share with us below in the comments.