Angels Newsletter #26
Dear Friends of Angels of the Amazon,
After 2 months in the jungle I have some wonderful news to share with all of you. The expression of work hard and
play harder was applied very well this time. I spent time doing both. I have much to share.
Education
We have finished the construction of El Chino high school: 5 classrooms with metal roofs, screened windows, desks and chairs, bathrooms with running water, and flush toilets for boys, girls, and teachers.
This is a dream come true for our students and the community of El Chino and other communities nearby who have children attending this campus. When I first started working in the Tahuayo region there was no high school, there was only an elementary school. The lack of secondary education deprived the young people of so much, but what hit my heart the hardest was to see girls who had now completed their 6th-grade education, unable to advance any further, becoming pregnant as young as 13 years of age. The lack of education propagated a vicious cycle of agrarian poverty. I managed to find secondary school education for a few children in Iquitos and then with encouragement from friends I founded the Angels of the Amazon foundation to help several more.
But it was not enough, as many more children deserved an opportunity. For several years I negotiated with the government on behalf of the community to establish a high school. When this was finally approved we needed to create an infrastructure. Be The Change Volunteers, a not-for-profit with experience building schools in remote regions of the world, became our partner and helped us to realize this dream.
There is still work to do such as improving the elementary school, annually providing books and educational supplies, helping some of the most impoverished children attend school, and assisting graduates of the high school in attending the university or a technical school in Iquitos. We need sponsors and donations for these young people. It is an opportunity to truly transform lives.
Healthcare-Esperanza Clinic
Thanks to assistance from our nurses at the Esperanza Clinic, virtually all adults of the Tahuayo Communities have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
In August, the clinic hosted a group of dentists from Louisiana (USA) as well as one dentist from Iquitos to do a week-long dental service for the people of the Tahuayo communities. Due to the travel shutdown, this was the first dental clinic that we have had in 21 months. It was much needed as a number of children and adults had developed cavities and other dental problems. At the conclusion of the clinic, we offered dental hygiene education as well as toothbrushes and toothpaste for the children. After a week of clinical work the dentist group relaxed at Amazonia’s lodges for several more days, birding, fishing, and canoeing.
We need more volunteers for clinics, more groups of dentists as well as pediatricians, women’s health care, and traumatic care nurses and physicians. Please contact us if you have interest, or send your donation to support the Esperanza Clinic (nurses’ salaries, supplies, and upkeep of clinic).
Dolly’s Note
Thank you all for your past & current support to our mission. You have fed the hungry, healed the sick and given opportunity for young people to rise above the cycle of agrarian poverty. We are asking for your continued support during this challenging time to help us continue with our programs. AoA is the bridge between you and the Tahuayo communities.
Hope Lives!
Dolly
The Jungle’s Daughter
