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Helping Peru's Ese eja Native Nation

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The arrival of COVID-19 to the Amazon rainforest is having a devastating effect on the guardians of our planet’s vital organ. The Ese'eja nation has been in charge of caring for and preserving our forests for generations, and are one of the few remaining Amazonian tribes. Now they are fighting for their survival in the face of the COVID-19 health pandemic.



WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
This pandemic has progressed faster than normal in their communities as they do not have access to basic health services

HOW WILL THIS PROJECT SOLVE THE PROBLEM?
With your support and donations, we will be able to help more than 343 families from the communities of Palma Real, Infierno, and Sonene, in the region of Madre de Dios in Peru by providing basic needs for the most vulnerable families.

Each basic food basket for a family is US$25 for a week and there are 343 families in these three Ese'eja communities. The Ese'eja people have protected the tropical forests for thousands of years. Now it is time to protect them!


MY STORY WITH THE ESE EJA NATION

My name is Vanessa Frias.  I am Peruvian, a biologist and the founder of the Amazon Yoga Centre www.amazonyogacentre.com

Many years ago, destiny took me to the Amazon in the Madre de Dios region. I came as a research assistant to study medicinal plants and Ecology. From the airplane, I saw for the first time the rivers that look like snakes and the majestic and imposing green carpet that is the tropical Amazon Rainforest. My heart was beating with emotion. I felt, after all my life in the city, a real moment of connection with nature and the native people. My first experience was navigating the Tambopata River for more than eight hours, arriving at the Tambopata Research Center (TRC), and then having the privilege of learning ethnobotany with two Ese’eja guides, Don Jose Mishaja and Juan Pesha. In our walks through the forest, they both taught me so much about the plants and their culture. That is when I decided to visit the native community.  My hosts were very friendly boys and girls who showed me around the community and took me to the river to introduce me to their mothers while they bathed in the evenings. This is how I got to know the wonderful people of the Infierno Community. The Ese’eja Nation helped me to see life in both a simple and profound way; to see the reality of their communities, their activities like fishing, agriculture, handicrafts, medicinal plants and their language, myths, and stories. I would love to be able to mention all of those who taught me with care, kindness, smiles, collaboration, and trust. I carry them all in my heart. I am now a person whose growth, maturity, and knowledge is due in a large part to them. Thank you, Ese’eja people for showing me the value of wise humility.



As we lived through the first stages of the pandemic and consequent quarantine, I knew that sometime soon the COVID-19 would reach their villages. That day arrived and sadness overcame us when we learned that several of our brothers from the Ese'eja Nation had died, and with them, all of their wisdom and ancestral knowledge.  The pandemic has and continues to affect many families. We have gathered a number of people with similar experiences to mine as a group of volunteers to try and give back to the Ese’eja people by supporting these communities with medicines, food, safety materials, and everything that is available.



I am organizing this campaign with Rocio Martinez and a group of volunteers and we request your help to allow us to continue supporting the most vulnerable families with basic supplies. We open this fund-raising campaign to all of those who feel empathy for the Amazon and the indigenous people. I can assure you that all contributions, large or small, will be greatly appreciated and put to good use.  We will share some photographs of the progress of the project in https://www.facebook.com/amazonyogacentre/

Very grateful,

Vanessa Frías

Biologist

Founder of Amazon Yoga Centre
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Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $150
    • 5 yrs
  • Jed Bernstein
    • $100
    • 5 yrs
  • Susanne Lucas
    • $100
    • 5 yrs
  • Tara ogren
    • $100
    • 5 yrs
  • Penny Jarrett
    • $75
    • 5 yrs
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Fundraising team (2)

Patty Herrera De Bland
Organizer
Ft. Pierce, FL
Vanessa Frias
Team member

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