Inside this Issue

Notes From The Amazon 

By Patty Webster

Whether you live in a concrete jungle or a real one (like we do), we all depend on nature for our survival. Here in the Amazon, as far as the eye can see and the imagination can wander, there would seem to be an endless supply of natural resources, especially water and trees. But a recent scientific report on global warming by the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change suggests a different story. The threat to the world’s water supply is very real. Studies show that tens of millions of Latin Americans will be without water in 20 years due to the effects of global warming brought on by human consumption. Only now has global warming become an urgent agenda issue because we’re all seeing and feeling its harmful effects for the first time.

In August of 2005, the Itaya River which runs along the city of Iquitos and empties into the Amazon, completely dried up for the first time in recorded history. Many neighborhoods went without water for weeks, and in this water-dependent city all river transport came to an abrupt halt. This phenomenon was not unique to Iquitos: throughout the Amazon all the way into Brazil vast expanses of river completely dried up and hundreds of jungle communities became completely isolated. No one had ever seen anything like it. The Brazilian Amazon was hit the worst. Millions of fish perished, boats were left grounded, and thousands of people went hungry and jobless. The secondary effects, including a surge in mosquito-borne illnesses such as dengue fever and malaria, are expected to follow closely behind.

Mining, oil companies, cattle breeders, and loggers illegally cutting down endangered mahogany and other expensive woods for wealthy homeowners all contribute to the contamination of rivers and their tributaries. Toxic runoff and blatant disregard for the people living in these areas result in severe health problems and the destruction of ancient ways of life. If big corporations continue demolishing these ecosystems, and we the consumers continue to use these products without a second thought, what message are we sending future generations who will undoubtedly suffer from our inaction?  Stripping the rainforests for reasons mentioned above is not going to improve the lives of Americans North or South. It will only continue to lead us further into mass depletion of what we (and future generations) all need to survive. Starting today each of us in our own way can change the way we consume and start to make a difference. 

PROMISE EXPEDITIONS

As I write this, we are preparing for our next Promise Expedition. On April 21^st, we expect the arrival of 8 volunteers who will head out to the jungle with Amazon Promise staff for 12 days. We will be holding clinics in villages on the Yarapa and Ucayali Rivers. In addition to our daily medical clinics, we will be continuing our Soy Capaz HIV education program in each village where we work. Working alongside our medical teams, Humberto Huiñapi, a traditional healer based in Iquitos, will be attending patients for their spiritual and physical ailments. Upon our return to Iquitos we will be holding a clinic in the city of Belén where construction plans continue for the Promesa de Belén clinic.

Amazon Promise would like to thank the Engineers Without Borders student chapters from Binghamton University and Brown University for traveling to Iquitos in January to work with us on construction plans for the clinic. Their input has been instrumental in our progress. 

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In other medical expedition news, Amazon Promise has added a one-week medical trip date in October to work right here in the city of Iquitos where our services are in huge demand. If you don’t have two weeks, or you don’t want to deal with the jungle mosquitoes and mud, this just might be the trip for you! Look for more one-week dates in 2008.

Amazon Promise has ties to several indigenous communities living in remote areas of the Upper Amazon. We have worked with the Achuar, Quechua and Candoshi of the Upper Pastaza and Corrientes Rivers since 1997. We’ve also been providing first aid supplies to several other communities that we can’t visit personally for years. Most recently we have been approached by an Aguaruna Indian named Pacunda who runs an indigenous student organization based in Iquitos. He has asked us several times to send a medical team to visit Aguaruna villages in the Saramiriza region. The Aguaruna live in the remote highland jungle on the upper Marañon River. Our only means for reaching these remote villages would be helicopter or plane. We are in the process of organizing an investigative trip to this area in September to see what future possibilities there are for Amazon Promise teams. It’s sure to be an adventure! 

TB ALERT!

Although the Ministry of Health reported last week that TB cases are down in Peru as a whole, here in Iquitos there have been 200 new cases in the first quarter, many of which appear to be MDR-TB. On March 26^th, a woman showed up at the Amazon Promise office from the village of Puerto Miguel looking for aid for her father. He’d been diagnosed with advanced TB. The woman also told us that both her 16 year old son, who helps us carry our supplies back and forth between the rivers, and her mother have been coughing and losing weight. On March 27^th, I received word that a young woman from the same village was looking for help for her grandmother who was bedridden and coughing up blood. We contacted the local Ministry of Health who will be sending a medical brigade to that village. During our next visit to the area, we will attempt to identify other TB patients in need of formal testing. TB treatment is free in Peru, however access to treatment for people living in the jungle remains limited. Most patients lack the money and resources necessary to live in Iquitos while undergoing treatment.

The second half of 2007 is looking extremely busy with medical expeditions every month, including an additional one-month medical student internship in November. We are also planning a West Coast fundraiser for the end of October. Details to come!

Our 2006 end-of-year patient stats are as follows: we saw 2870 patients in total, including 432 men, 983 women, 799 children under 5, and 656 children ages 6-14. If you are interested in a more detailed report, please contact me at patty@amazonpromise.org.

On behalf of the Peruvian people, we thank you for your continued support.

Patty Webster

President

Amazon Promise

Treating an elderly TB patient