Help Sajneel Level Up APIENC!

I’ve never felt comfortable in my own skin and body. For years I’ve walked around entering spaces suppressing my identity and heritage. I’d come back home every day to look into the mirror, shed my altered identity, and only for a minute feel like my true self. 

My dark rich melanin skin tarnished with harsh words from elementary playgrounds became cement in my mind. I looked around for people with stories like me, I looked for human connection in a deep dark moment, yet found emptiness. 

As a Fijian Indian API Queer teen living in California’s Central Valley, there were very few spaces for me to go and begin shedding once again. Truly speaking, even reaching out into the world, I couldn’t find anyone who made me feel like it’s okay to showcase my true self…until now. 

I share this story as it adds depth and importance to APIENC’s Summer Organizer Program. From my orientation to now, I’ve felt a space for healing, power building, and acceptance. Every day I’m learning the importance of showing my heritage as one my ancestors have fought to keep alive. I’m meeting people who’ve shared my experiences and having conversations of healing. Being a part of this program truly feels as if I’m throwing my alter identities and shredded skin into the dump and finally saying goodbye.

This transformation is the reason APIENC’s Summer Organizer Program needs to continue in the future. I need your help in sustaining this essential space for LGBTQ+ API leaders to heal, build power, and transform not only themselves yet the world around them. Donate today and help reach my $1,000 goal this Pride Month GiveOUT day!

Love ❤️, 

Sajneel Naicker