September 2004 Trip:

On Monday, September 6th a team from Greenwich, Connecticut left from JFK to fulfill its first mission project in the Amazon region of Peru. Joining the team was Ali Hochreiter, a seasoned writer and past reporter for a local newspaper. Also joining the group was an experienced and professional graphics designer and photographer/cameraman, Raju, an Indian national residing in the United States. The team leader of this project was Roxana Bowgen, a seasoned missionary and founder of MOC, Inc.

Team arrived at Lima International Airport on Tuesday morning and connected to a flight that evening for Iquitos, the Amazon capital of Peru. Stayed overnite in Iquitos, a city of about 1 million people and many more motorcycle taxis. After breakfast we boarded a small motorboat to our final destination, Sinchicuy, a small community of about 750 inhabitants located one hour north on the Amazon river.

What our team learned is that after dozens of years of military rule, Peru has enjoyed a democratic leadership since 1980. Its leadership under President Alberto Fujimori raised the level of poverty and education in the country. In 2001 the country elected Alejandro Toledo, as the new head of government. While the capital, Lima, enjoys a higher standard of living than in recent years, the outskirts such as the Amazon region continue to struggle with serious poverty and lack basic amenities.

Many Amazonian residents have no potable water, electricity nor medical care. While many would work if they could, the sad reality is that they cannot even afford to hire a boat to leave their communities for employment in the nearest city of Iquitos.

"Iquitos, city, northeastern Peru, capital of Loreto Department. It is a port on the Amazon River, approximately 100 km (about 60 mi) from the point at which the Marañón River unites with the Ucayali River to form the mainstream of the Amazon. The city is the commercial outlet for the surrounding region, which yields rubber, balata, chicle, nuts, timber, rice, coffee, and tobacco. Cotton gins, sawmills, and distilleries are here. Located about 3700 km (about 2300 mi) upstream from the mouth of the Amazon on the Atlantic Ocean, Iquitos is one of the farthest inland ports of major size in the world. Oceangoing vessels visit regularly. The city is also served by several airlines. Iquitos was founded as a Peruvian settlement in 1863. Population (1998 estimate) 334,013."

A good salary in Iquitos is about $6-7 per week. The city is crowded and polluted. Street vendors abound. Begging is common, street demonstrations a common site. Certain sections of town in Iquitos are dedicated to different trades. In one street typists abound, men sitting outdoors with twenty to thirty year old typewriters. For cents people come to them to have their letters written, with copies still in carbon paper.

In Iquitos, many wait along the river for boats to arrive from the jungle carrying tropical fruits. They will get paid cents for an entire day’s labor carrying hundreds of pounds of fruit on their backs to the local open air market.

Earning a living in the outer regions of the Amazon is even harder. The government of Peru has tried to help by encouraging community soup kitchens, which they subsidize. Local villagers pool together their staples and cook in large quantities. The hungry can eat a meal for the equivalent of about one quarter, which is still unaffordable for many. Those who cannot pay live off the land. They hunt, grow bananas, keep chickens.

While children are required to attend elementary school, in reality few can because there are not many schools. Children as young as four and five years old walk many miles to attend. Most have no shoes and are exposed to the elements as well as snake bites as they cross the jungle to reach the classroom.

There are no hospitals. If there is no medical depot nearby, the locals rely on the generosity of visitors for pain killers, fever reducers and anti-venom. By the time they reach 30 years old, suffer from osteoporosis and have calcium deficiencies. Very few can afford to keep cows. There is no refrigeration.

The people of Sinchicuy, San Juan de Guashalado and Yagua, are eager to learn and to work. The sad reality is that employment opportunities are scarce. The children, in particular expressed a love of learning and a yearning to soak up new skills we could offer them.

For many, learning English will be their ticket out of the poverty cycle. We met a handful of locals at Sinchicuy who have been fortunate enough to become educated in Iquitos. Some have returned to their local villages to help their people. Willy Huaycama is one of them. He was our local guide and Project Director. At age 25, Willy has faced many hardships, having to care and provide for his immediate and extended family. He makes a living being a tour guide and managing the only lodge in this small village. His community is proud of him and grateful for his dedication to share his skills with the people.

Willy Huaycama is a nature lover and a naturalist by spirit. Having been born in the deep jungle, he came to Iquitos at the age of 16 to get an education and to learn English. He dabbles in other languages and is quick to learn new skills. He has been instrumental in building the lodge. He has established connections around the world to tell of the need in his village. He has developed an after school program for local children to educate them about taking care of the environment through art. He’s the exception. Most will live a life of subsistence.

Our group of missionaries was priviledged to take part in this after school program. Along with helping them with their art skills we spoke to them in English. Using phonetics we taught them how to count up to twenty, taught them the colors of the rainbow and words relating to their environment. For example: canoe, snake, parrot, dog, river, boat, water, sky, monkey, rain, tree, frog, etc. We started with about 30 children. By the end of our stay, we were holding two sessions and had about 60 children in attendance. Maritsa Rengifo Pena is the School Director. Willy’s aunt, Gisela Taminche, is one of seven teachers in this village who helped us. The children are eager and embrace learning English. They would be grateful for future volunteers to teach them.

In the mornings when we did not have children to teach Willy, our Project Director, took us to visit two other villages, local schools, families and a church. One such village is San Juan de Guashalado which is located on the opposite shore of the Amazon, one half hour boat ride from our site.

From San Juan de Huashalado we hiked through the dense jungle for half an hour on foot to reach a small river, board a canoe and find the Yagua tribe. These people speak a local dialect called Yagua. The future chief of the tribe was our translator. He speaks Spanish and Yagua. While typically nomads, they have resided in this current location for the past five years. Their children are now attending elementary school in San Juan de Guashalado. They are required to wear clothing to attend school. As such the clothing donations we brought were very much appreciated and needed.

These three villages need your help. Your financial contributions allow us to purchase supplies which we will take with us on our next mission. Item donations such as pens, pencils, crayons, markers, composition books, notebook paper, etc. are also welcome. If you can donate medicines, they must have an expiration no earlier than June of 2006. We plan to send a second team in June of 2005. Medicines can only enter the country if they have at least a one year expiration.