Monday, November 29, 2021

Amazon Pueblo Fall 2021 Newsletter

Amazon Pueblo Fall 2021 Newsletter

While slowed during 2021 because of the pandemic, our mission to support the education of indigenous students in the Amazon goes forward!

In this update we briefly review was has happened since the summer and touch on our plans for the future.

Our director taking notes in the village of La Libertad


Education for the Amazon

Fighting Corruption


When our program director arrived in the village of La Libertad in July he was told that the village students from grades seven to twelve were not going to a regional school in Macedonia, were not being visited by teachers, and had not received any study guides for the past six months.

The students and parents were told that there was no gasoline available to visit La Libertad or to provide any services.  However, the director of the Macedonian school and the teachers were passing the village bi-weekly while they were traveling to the city of Leticia.  They also were continuing to receive their salary.

The director of Amazon Pueblo investigated this problem, spoke with the Secretary of Education in Leticia, who stated that gasoline had been provided during the time our students had no educational services.  With the help of Amazon Pueblo, the community of La Libertad submitted a formal inquiry with the Education Secretary.  Two weeks after this the educational services were restarted in Macedonia.  A formal investigation is now underway into what happened to the gasoline and why the students were not receiving services.

While we are thankful that things have improved, it is of utmost importance that the villagers understand their rights, how to fight corruption and to avoid being taken advantage of.  With proper education, the students will gain this knowledge.

 

Scholarship Program

School shopping in Leticia

The student program had a difficult time this year, due to the pandemic.  While the younger students had in-person school in La Libertad, it was only for three days per week.  Due to corruption problems, the older students had no educational services.

Additionally, it was very difficult to find all of the students who were in the program during the previous year.  Eight students from 2020 did not continue to receive scholarships.  They were replaced with eight new students.

Four of our older students left the program, not wanting to continue studying in 2022.  They, and many others, left to work in the coca cultivation fields in Peru.  We believe the lack of school (and their need to have money for their families due to the collapse of tourism) directly contributed to their decision to leave La Libertad.

In all, we gave out 35 scholarships for 2021.  This was the most we have ever provided.  It is hoped that all students will be back in school full-time after the new year.

 

Health Center

The village chief and secretary planning in Leticia


We are planning to start building the health care center during the winter of 2022.  The center will directly improve the health of the students it serves.  Parasites are one of the biggest, and most easily treated, problems that plague the students.  Concentration during classes and homework times is difficult when they are malnourished, have intestinal pain, and various skin irritations from parasites.

Overall, through the health center we will achieve the following five things:

  1. Provide a place for the students and their families to receive basic health care.
  2. Provide a place for medication to be stored.
  3. Provide training to specific members of the community to treat illness and injury.
  4. Provide a secure place for health and community records to be stored.
  5. Provide an office and dormitory for visiting health care providers.

 

Logistics and Support

Building Repairs

Without constant vigilance, the harsh climatic conditions of the jungle quickly damage our structures and materials.

During the past fall, we repaired and maintained our buildings in La Libertad, including:

  •      Repairing the stairs to the second story building
  •         Repairing the rotted wall and installing waterproofing by our main water tank
  •         Updating parts of the electrical system
  •         Fixing leaking roofs

The repairs by our 2000 liter tank

Solar Panel

One of the most time-consuming tasks of our work was installing a 530-watt solar panel and wiring the kitchen.  It works, but a safe system to switch between village power (available for six hours per day) and our solar system must be installed.  Additionally, three more buildings need to be wired during the winter.  We are installing an electrical grounding system and electrical conduits, which make the job a bit more complicated, but very secure.  Our hope is to one day be completely reliant on solar energy for all of our electrical needs, including refrigeration!

Solar panel equipment

Aluminum Boat

At last, we have a small, six-meter aluminum boat exclusively for the project’s use.  This is lighter, uses less gasoline, is faster, and more stable in the water than our old wooden boat.  It also does not need to be replaced every three years due to rot. 

The first time our boat sees water

Motor Repairs

Our motor is over three years old and was bought used.  However, it is still running well.  We maintain it regularly, change the transmission fluid, and have installed an additional inline fuel filter to help us use the frequently contaminated gasoline found in Leticia.  With continued care, we hope it will last for at least the next year.

Motor repairs in Leticia

 Cell phone signal amplifier

The community of La Libertad has been without reliable cell phone coverage for the past two years.  Before that, we had had a cell phone signal amplifier, but that was struck by lightning during a particularly intense thunderstorm.  After many shipping problems, we expect to receive a new amplifier in December.  Our new installation will include a heavy-duty lightning rod.  When we can connect easily with the outside world, the opportunities for business, safety, and health should be increased.


Cell phone signal amplifier


Fundraising

Craft Fair

We attended the first craft fair since the pandemic started.  It was moderately well-attended.  In all, we made about $550 in profit.  The majority of our sales were from emerald jewelry, but we did sell some handcrafts from the village.


Holiday Craft Fair at the Augusta Civic Center

Emeralds for the Amazon

We are expanding our emerald jewelry offerings to high-quality emerald and gold.  The pictures do not show the beauty, brilliance, and remarkable color of these gems.  The ring was appraised by Chamber’s Jewelers in Thomaston, Maine at $8,550.  The earrings were appraised at $2,750.  Below each image are links to our YouTube page which shows 360-degree videos of the jewelry.  All profits from our jewelry sales go towards the project.


360-degree video of the ring



360-degree video of the earrings


Giving Tuesday


On giving Tuesday (November 30) we started our fundraising efforts for next year.

 

Sponsor a Student

To continue or to start sponsoring the education of a student please visit our Facebook fundraising page or our Chuffed donation portal.  A donation of $120 will support one student for a year.  Donations of less than $120 will help to support the logistics of the scholarship program.

Scholarship students on their way to school

Build a Health Care Center

By far, our most challenging effort is in building a much-needed health care center to support our students and their families in the village.  In the image below, the boy is suffering from skin and intestinal parasites.  At night the pain is particularly bad.  He frequently woke up crying.  One week after treatment with $1 of ivermectin drops he had remarkable improvement.  He had been suffering for months.  At the time the picture was taken he was 13 months old.  He weighed 12 pounds.

To help us build the health center please visit our Facebookfundraising page or our Chuffed donation portal.  We want to build the foundation, walls, and roof this winter.  Little by little, we hope to continue improving the center until it can meet the basic health care needs of all the students and their families.


Jason

 

Thank you for reading about our project.  Happy Holidays!







Saturday, June 26, 2021

Return to the Jungle: Our Amazon quest continues

In late July we are returning to the Amazon.  During the pandemic our future was uncertain.  Now we are committed to going enthusiastically forward in our quest for education in the river communities!


Scholarships

We have added eight new scholarships for 2021, bringing our total to 35!  Thank you to all of our patrons for believing in the future of the village children.

Students of La Libertad getting ready for school.

Health Care Center

We have raised funds to start building a small health care center in La Libertad.  While we are short of the total funding we need for the center, we are off to a good start.  The building will be made of concrete and blocks.  This will provide a more permanent structure than the wooden construction that is usually used.

The health care center of Macedonia, five kilometers upriver
from La Libertad.  We would like to build ours in this style.

Projects

Other projects on the slate for this year include:

  • Installing a 600-watt solar power system
  • 24-hour refrigeration for food and medicine
  • Replace our small wooden boat with a slightly larger rot-resistant fiberglass boat
  • Restart our volunteer-led tutoring program
  • Increase our cultivation of cacao and fruit trees


Website

And last, we have a NEW WEBSITE!  It is now fully encrypted with SSL security.  This site focuses directly on our mission.  It uses many pictures to visually describe what we are doing.  Thank you to our many volunteers who contributed the beautiful photos which were used in the creation of the site.


Thank you and please read our blog or Facebook page for the latest news!


Thursday, February 11, 2021

Goodbye to our cargo boat...

 And thank you for all the journeys for which you carried us safely!


Sadly, our 12-meter cargo boat rotted after three and a half years of use on the river.  Wooden boats, even when painted, almost never last past three years.  It had made over 100 trips up and down the river carrying our students, villagers, and supplies for our work in La Libertad.  We also loaned it to other people for cargo work to help the people of Zaragosa and our neighbors across the river in Peru.


The boat was
The boat was made by Israel in the village of Puerto Alegia.  It took about
two weeks to construct.  The boat was first painted with a polyurethane-based 
paint to slow the rot.


We installed a roof on the boat to offer protection against the sun
and rain.  This was a welcome addition but did add a significant amount of
weight and wind resistance to the boat.


Trips in the boat were very comfortable.  We had plastic sheets
that were lowered on the sides during heavy storms.  This protected
our passengers and cargo.  Because of the boat's size and weight, 
it was very stable in the water, even during storms and high waves.


This is the back entrance to La Libertad.  Sometimes, when the
water was high, it was difficult to navigate the smaller jungle
tributaries.  We would often get stuck on underwater wood or 
on overhanging branches.


After two years we resealed and painted the boat.  Six months
before this a tree fell and destroyed the roof on a trip through a
tributary.  Luckily, the roof protected the passengers but was destroyed.


Our last big school shopping trip to Leticia.


The final resting place of our boat, in the back of the village
in the river tributary.

The Future
We have not decided if we will build another cargo boat of wood, upgrade to one of fiberglass, or rent larger boats when we need them for transport.  We still have our smaller, seven-meter wooden boat for transport and light duty.  

Please enjoy this video of one of the trips upriver from the fall of 2019.










Saturday, January 2, 2021

Happy New Year from Amazon Pueblo! On to our work in 2021...

Thank you to our friends for believing in our project during 2020 and beyond!


Thank you to everyone who donated on Facebook, Chuffed, or directly to us by check or cash.  Facebook is less than transparent on the information of people who donate to us, especially by the "donate" button on our Amazon Pueblo page.  We would like to take this opportunity to recognize everyone who helped the indigenous youth of La Libertad, Leticia, Tabatinga, and Caballococha.  

Thank you, Olivia L(very much), Dianne and Dana, Debbie and Eric, Steven, David, Nancy, Marion, Maryann, Chuck, Hakki, Starsha, Barbara, Julie and Craig, Mark, Johanna, Trice, Randy, Hanna, Alina, Sandra, Barbie,  Gina, Stella, Mike, Janice, Santina, Patrick, Diane and Ian, Josh and Crystal (also very much), Rudy and Joan, Rose, Steven, Irene and Joe, Mia, Jessica and Rand, Janet, Corrine, Diane, and JoAnna!

Tax Information

Everyone should have received a receipt from either platform for tax purposes.  This year, the IRS offers a special deduction of up to $300 for people who do not itemize and take the standard deduction.  This is unchanged for people who itemize.  If you do not have a receipt and would like one, please contact us.


Our plans for 2021

  • Overall, during 2020 we have had a little under $14,000 in donations.  This was fantastic!  We now have over $10,000 in the bank and accounts receivable for January for our work in 2021.
  • We have a total of 29 scholarships for this year.  We hope to fill one more before returning to the Amazon this spring
  • We have added SSL security to the Amazon Pueblo website.  This will stop the "this site is not secure" warning when people visit us.  It is also one of the first steps to having an e-commerce page on our site.
  • This January we are planning to update the website to make it easier to understand the project, navigate, and to interface a bit better with Google AdWords.  We are also working on getting out our financial reports, which will be posted on the website.
  • During the past two years, we have received a little over $360 from Amazon Smile donations!  This represents over $52,000 of purchases on Amazon.  Please follow this link to support us with your purchases at Amazon.com.  Thank you to everyone who has signed up to help us through this program!

Our budget for 2021

  • Student scholarships 3200
  • Health care center 2500
  • Solar panels and electrical system 1000 (very important, as this will allow us to store anti-venom in 24-hour refrigeration for snake bites)
  • Building repairs and construction 1000
  • Education support program 500
  • Travel and transportation costs 500
  • Administrative costs 300
  • Emergency/Reserve fund 1000



Our recipe book fundraiser

  • We will publish a cookbook with the favorite recipes from our students' families, former volunteers, and the directors.
  • Each recipe will include a story about why they picked it.  We will also have pictures of the authors, the food, and the Amazon.
  • We will publish it on Amazon.com, in an electronic form, or by print-on-demand.
  • Our print price will probably be around $15 each, and we will sell them for $25.
  • We will be contacting people, gathering recipes, and putting everything together over the next one to two years.
  • So please be on the lookout for an email from us requesting a recipe!

Happy New Year!