Covid_19 Appeal Food & Essentials for Amazon Communities
April 14 2020
COVID-19 poses a mortal threat to Amazonian indigenous peoples. There have already been around 2.000 cases of the disease in the region and more than 60 deaths.Those numbers are likely to explode in the coming weeks, and we need to take action now to prevent more deaths.
The inhabitants of the Jauaperi river in the Amazon forest need your help!
The Jauaperi river, situated in the northern Brazilian Amazon, is home to 1000 river-dwellers living in 14 villages on the margin of the river, 400 km away from the nearest town. The small villages are isolated and only accessible by boat, with no food shops, no health care services and little or no medications, which makes the inhabitants of the river extremely vulnerable to Covid19.
Most of the river-dwellers live of traditional activities such as fishing, hunting and harvesting but are also dependent from the distant towns of the region that form an essential network of exchanges.
Due to the global pandemic, they are trying to reduce the movements to the cities to a minimum, staying home in the forest to avoid the spread of the Covid19 to the villages. The communities have already taken steps to protect themselves and no outsider is allowed in the national reserve of the Jauaperi river.
For the villagers, reducing travels to the city means the impossibility to access food essentials that usually complete a basic diet made of fish, game meat and cassava flour.
The shortage of food is a real issue that can compromise a tentative of self-isolation and endanger an entire population with children, pregnant women, elderly and vulnerable people.
The communities are currently making efforts to organize a river food-bank to transport and distribute essential food to 100 families.
With a donation of £45 you guarantee enough food to a family of river-dweller for a month.
They need your help for the success of this logistical challenge: to organize the transport of food as well as cleaning products, fishing material and fuel for emergencies, by boat, to the villages along the river
Amazon Charitable Trust and Amazonia Onlus are two NGO’s that have a long-lasting relationship with the villages and are supporting the joint effort of the river-dwellers of the Jauaperi by relaying the indigenous people demands in response to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The money that we are able to fundraise will be entirely dedicated to support the families of the Jauaperi in this critical time.
To donate now follow the link
