Sustainability & Education Center Update

A year to embrace change!  

In seeking to Help Sustain Life in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, our EKOAMAZON community has supported health and education in a variety of ways.  We continually seek to best understand the true needs and best ways to meet these needs through working directly with the indigenous people involved in our mission. Their creativity, resourcefulness, and resilience inspire us to expand our own perspective of what is possible and what truly matters.  Little did we know how much this perspective would help us in sustaining our own lives during a global pandemic!  It’s interesting to reflect upon what “helping” really means and to consider who benefits and in what ways.

Helping to sustain a rural after-school center these past few years has been our way of “helping” and it has allowed us to evaluate the incredible wealth of educational resources accumulated in the two branches. The main branch of the EKOAMAZON SEC (Sustainability and Education Center, formerly The Amazon Library/Biblioteca), located next to the village of Palmeras II, together with the smaller branch located in nearby Sapo Playa village, houses 7100 books, 6 computers, 40 chess sets, 25 musical instruments, and many games, craft supplies, science resources and more. Thanks to founder Nancy Dunn, those at CONAPAC, and the attention and generosity of so many of you, hundreds of village children have had the opportunity to expand upon their school education through access to wonderful programs and resources. Much value has been realized by those both south and north of the equator, and all investments made in this grand adventure have made an immensely meaningful impact on all those involved!

With all of this in mind, COVID-19 compelled us to pause, reflect, and make necessary decisions based on the changing landscape. Pre-pandemic we were considering the relocation of the main Center building into the village of Palmeras to provide better access and increased attendance. The pandemic brought on a domino effect of door-closing factors that have led us to the silver lining we knew would reveal itself when the time was right.

And so, we are branching out and placing the fruits of the SEC squarely in the hands of those best positioned to maximize their impact - the creative, resourceful, resilient people of the region! SEC Director Fernando Saavedra is working closely with CONAPAC leadership to “seed” 4 new community branches to replace the 2 existing locations that are no longer operationally feasible. The selection of the new locations was based on where resources would be best managed with the intent of providing hundreds more Amazonian youth with access to these resources. This expansion is the silver lining that led us one step at a time to the doors that were opening. We have learned that this is the way of that mighty river region - you never know what you’ll find around the next bend, yet you always know you'll find what you need. The 4 communities who will receive of these “seed packets" have demonstrated strong and effective leadership, plans for establishing their own libraries/centers, and commitment to managing these resources for the optimal benefit of their communities. As of December 31, these communities will be fully responsible for - and empowered to - manage their own centers. EKOAMAZON will not have an official role in these endeavors; we will simply keep in touch as they are now part of our evolving network.

While it is not easy to let go of what has been beloved by so many for so long, it is gratifying to see the potential spreading further out into the region. Much of the resources will move into a new structure within the village of Palmeras II and continue to serve them through the direction of their strong school and community leaders. This "Yagua Library and Museum" will be built by the community using the materials from the current Center building. Another significant portion of resources will go to the nearby village of Manati to help expand an existing school library under the direction of a principal held in high regard by the CONAPAC community. Another portion will go to the nearby town of Indiana to support their current project of establishing a library with a dedicated librarian. All music and chess resources will contribute to an emerging youth program/center under Fernando’s competent and passionate direction.

We understand that these changes may be emotionally challenging for many of you, as they certainly are for us. As these resources go to their new homes, all investments of everyone’s time, energy, passion, and funds will continue to provide untold opportunity. Nothing will have gone to waste, and in fact, it all goes on to new life! We thank you for your part in this, and as this new normal unfolds we hope you will continue to Help Sustain Life in the Amazon. All donations for the foreseeable future will go directly to cover costs of transitioning resources, including Fernando’s emerging youth center start-up costs. Every little bit goes such a long way, and as we have been reminded this year, we are all in this together. As always, we welcome your ideas, innovations, input, inquisitiveness and involvement.

We wish you happy, healthy, heartfelt holidays,

Ron, Nancy & the EKOAMAZON team