Snake Bites, Speedboats and School Kits
We’re delighted to share with you an update from Amazon Hope’s National Director, Roman Rodriguez, as he reflects on all that has been happening in Peru so far this year:
“Like every year, 2024 began with challenges and much to do in the Amazon communities. Our local team and volunteers, aboard the Forth Hope ship, have carried out five 20-day expeditions along the Amazon and Ucayali rivers, visiting rural and indigenous communities with little access to health services. Thus, during this first semester, 51,677 services were provided!
One of the most shocking stories was that of Carlos (photo below), a farmer from Sargento Lores community, who suffered a poisonous snake bite. His leg was swollen, very painful and bleeding. He had already been treated at a health post, but there they did not have enough medicine. On the boat we gave him medicine, took care of him all night and the next day he was walking and very relieved. If the ship had not been there, this man could have lost a leg.
Over these months we’ve also had 27 international volunteers join the expeditions to provide help to people who live far away, crossing many borders, whom they have never seen before, whose past they do not know, but who want to do something to improve their future. These are beautiful acts of kindness and solidarity that must be recognised and sustained.
We have not only served the communities on the Forth Hope ship. With costs covered by authorities, we’ve been travelling by small plane and speedboats to reach much more distant areas such as Andoas, near the border with Ecuador, where the services have benefitted many people.
This year we’ve also been able to use our links and access to remote communities to support education initiatives. In coordination with other Peruvian partners, we delivered 200 school kits to several communities. These materials are essential for kids to successfully advance in their educational process and have better future opportunities.
In this way we have worked during this first semester, bringing health, education, solidarity without borders and hope to the neediest places in the Amazon.”
