Some seventh grade students from John B. Stetson Charter School in North Philadelphia are traveling to Medellín, Colombia, this summer, to teach photography to less fortunate youth. These students are members of the Stetson Shutterbugs, an outreach program of Photography Without Borders (PWB), a program that teaches youth photography and inspires storytelling through “multi-disciplinary learning and photography-based cultural exchanges.”

“These students from one of Philadelphia’s most challenged neighborhoods are getting a chance to be cultural ambassadors as well as teachers,” Tony Rocco, founder of PWB and teacher of the Shutterbugs, said. “Both groups will spend two weeks together, learning about photography and each other’s cultures, and the project culminates with an exhibition of all the participant’s work in one of Medellín’s most renowned galleries.”

On May 29, the Shutterbugs held a happy hour fundraiser at Garden Variety in Northern Liberties. Across the street at Rustica Pizza, the students hosted an exhibition and sale of the their photographs taken throughout this past year. The exhibition will be on display for about a month.

In addition, the Shutterbugs also have created a Kickstarter campaign to help raise money for their Colombia trip. The funds raised will cover the cost of the participants’ airfare, hotel, meals, in-country travel costs, and the costs of mounting the exhibition. The Kickstarter campaign runs until Friday, June 5.

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Isabel Feeney, 12, who joined the Shutterbugs in October 2014 and Yaitza Figueroa, 13, who joined the group two years ago, have never been to Colombia and are excited for the trip.“I’m excited to see a lot of different things that I’ve never seen before and to meet people I’ve never met before,” Feeney said.

“I’m happy because I want to learn about different experiences because I know the other kids have different experiences than us,” Figueroa said. Figueroa was just recently selected to have her trip sponsored by ASPIRA.

Franchesca Robles, 18, has been a part of PWB for the past six years. Originally, starting as a student, Robles is now a teacher in the program and will be traveling to Colombia to help the students.

“I kind of took for granted being a student. It was so easy. Now as a teacher, I legitimately have to do stuff,” Robles said. “It’s a role that I’m really not used to taking. It’s really exciting”

Robles is looking forward to helping the kids learn about other cultures and life experiences.

“It’s really cool seeing other kids getting the same opportunity that I got because it’s not something you can just get. It’s such an important opportunity,” Robles said. “They swear their whole life is terrible, that living in Philadelphia is the worst thing to ever happen to them and that there are no opportunities for them, when in reality they have so many opportunities around them. And it’s good for them to see that there are other places where they don’t have as much and they should just be grateful for everything that they have.”

To learn more and donate to their Kickstarter campaign, click here.