Dolores Ibárruri Brigade

❝ Until victory, (almost) always ❞

In 1998, I had the opportunity to participate in the Dolores Ibárruri Brigade. It is a brigade that is sent to Cuba every year and is part of the Brigade Movement. It is a broad and dynamic movement that brings together both members of the Solidarity Brigades of the CJC (Communist Youth Union) and all those who understand Solidarity as a way of life. I belong to this second group.

The Brigade Movement actively participates in the construction of International Solidarity and politically commits to the radical struggle against the injustice and inequalitycaused by societies.

The Dolores Ibárruri Brigade works with the Union of Communist Youth of Cuba (UJC), organizing a new solidarity brigade with Cuba every year.

The work is organized in three phases:

▸ The preliminary phase consists of training the brigadistas with talks about the history and the political, social, and economic model of Cuba. It is also responsible for organizing the trip, collecting materials, organizing events, and finally, fostering group cohesion.

▸ The travel phase, which is divided into two parts:

✓ The first part: training and voluntary work. The training phase takes place in Havana, where several visits were made, such as the Assembly of People's Power, the Institute of Sociology, the Federation of Cuban Women, etc.

✓ The second part consisted of working on a project organized in the field. In my case, I participated in the reconstruction of a playroom for children aged 0 to 6 in Granma. Our work always involved integrating ourselves into the team as another member, which allowed us to build relationships with the Cuban people and experience their daily reality.

▸ The post-trip phase consisted of disseminating everything that was experienced and providing a vision of reality to combat stereotypes. The task of promoting international solidarity is carried out with the intention of fighting alienation and the one-dimensional thinking of society. It was a true space for debate about Cuba and its reality.

Undoubtedly, it was a unique experience that allowed me to learn about Cuban culture and get closer to what is now my current work: development cooperation and women's empowerment.

I witnessed firsthand howsolidarity is a powerful tool for social transformation.

❝ Many small people, in small places, doing small things, can change the world ❞ Eduardo Galeano