How We Started
In the summer of 2013, three high school students—Claire ’15, Liesl ’14, and Brenna ’14—traveled with Ron Rossi deep into the Peruvian Amazon. Ron had been bringing students to the region since 2002, but this journey would spark something none of them expected.
As they traveled by boat along the rivers, stepped into remote communities, and experienced life far removed from their own, the students began to see the Amazon—and their own world—through a different lens. They were moved by the warmth and resilience of the people they met, but also by the challenges communities faced, including limited access to education and clean water.
They returned home with more than memories. They returned with a question: What could we do?
Rather than simply talk about what they had seen, Claire, Liesl, and Brenna decided they wanted to be part of the solution. They envisioned working alongside Amazonian communities to create opportunities that many of us grow up taking for granted—opportunities to learn, to access clean water, and to build a stronger future.
And so, out of an adventure in the Amazon grew an idea: EKOAMAZON. Together, the students and Ron began building a partnership between young people in Michigan and communities in the Peruvian Amazon. In 2014, EKOAMAZON officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
What began with three students, one journey, and a desire to make a difference would become a much larger adventure—one that continues today.
