Corona relief for Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia

***UPDATE***
The team of people who are helping with this fundraiser has, in the meantime, grown significantly. Getting money together is one thing, but getting the right goods to the right people is the real challenge. Besides Eliceo we now have Elvis, Juan David and Ramiro running around trying to set up the logistics, investigating the most critical areas and communities, brainstorming about various ways to go about it and generally just being amazingly involved with this project, working tirelessly to help their communities.

Urgent help needed for the communities of Leticia, capital of the Amazonas Department in Colombia.

Leticia is the capital of the Amazonas Department in Colombia, at the tri-state border of Colombia, Peru and Brasil, on the Amazon river. The city is only reachable by aeroplane. Leticia and its surroundings are economically highly dependent on tourism and the majority of food supplies are brought in by plane from Bogota. Its healthcare system is fragile in good times.

As the country of Colombia went into complete lock down due to the Corona virus, tourism in Leticia came to a complete halt and, as supplies became sparse (due to shutdown of the airspace), the costs of basic food supplies skyrocketed. In other words, while the costs of living increased dramatically, income dropped equally dramatically! The government of Colombia vowed to release funds to help those in dire need however, a large part of these funds are embezzled and reach the intended recipients only sparsely. All the while the virus, as many viruses from the other side of the ocean have done to indigenous communities in the Americas ever since Columbus landed on her shores, has started to take its toll in an area who´s healthcare system has systematically been neglected (see https://colombiareports.com/colombias-healthcare-show-if-you-get-sick-you-die-and-thats-the-truth/ )


While talking to our friend Eliceo, the gravity of the situation was validated. Eliceo is an indigenous tour guide from the Matapi and Yukuna tribes. Normally running a successful tour business in which he shares his extensive knowledge of the area, he is now running around trying to take care of his father and mother, who have both fallen ill, most likely from the Coronavirus as well as trying to get food and other supplies to those in need. The hospital seems to be closed and the national Corona helpline is not reachable.

A new hospital especially built for Corona patients will most likely not be finished in time to avoid a catastrophe. Adding to the trouble is the fact that the town of Leticia is flooding from heavy rains. Visibly exhausted, he and many others are trying to find ways to help their communities.


When not trying to find help for his father, who is in a critical state, and delivering food and other supplies  to those in need, he is out in the rain forest, looking for medicinal plants deep in the jungle as western medicine is reaching the people sparsely and thus far has not proven effective.
https://youtu.be/MK0iyx6IYJs 

Houses with red flags are houses of people who have no food:


Therefore we are setting up this campaign. We ask you to donate, however big or small, so that we can help families survive by supplying food, basic sanitising products and immune boasting supplements. There is no time to wait, and we cannot rely on the local or national government for help.