In the Communities

Where we work

We work in four different areas in the Colombian Amazon region.  We provide scholarship for 16 students in the indigenous Yagua village of La Libertad.  This community has the least access to education, health/dental care, and commercial markets.

The rest of our students are located in:

  • Leticia, Colombia, five student
  • Km 18 upriver from Leticia, five students
  • Tabatinga, Brazil, two students
  • Caballococha, Peru, one student
one of the steps to make farina
Roasting yuca to make farina

What we have done in the community of La Libertad

Given its many needs, we provide the majority of our services to La Libertad.  These are some of the impacts of our program.

  • School Attendance -The village school has noted an overall better attendance rate in school. 
  • Aluminum Boat -Provided an aluminum boat for safe and fast transportation, especially for emergency medical trips. 
  • Bathrooms -Many more bathrooms (five of the nine houses in our barrio have bathrooms, opposed to just one bathroom, the volunteers’ guesthouse, four years ago) 
  • Water Treatment -Fewer children with distended stomachs due to intestinal parasites (in part from a rainwater treatment plant provided by a United Nations program, in-part from our health education efforts). 
  • Wooden Building Preservation -More houses being painted to preserve the wood (three of nine homes in our barrio) 
  • Responsible Trash Disposal -There is noticeably less trash around the village. 
  • Agricultural Loans Provided -We selectively gave microloans to support agriculture, mainly yucca cultivation, to families in La Libertad. 
  • Future Agricultural Opportunities -We provided cloned fruit and cacao trees to La Libertad and our partners in Leticia. When they are of sufficient size, they may be used to produce additional clones. These trees will help with food security and business.
  • Volunteers in the village -Over 30 volunteers have provided work, educational, and enrichment activities to the children and adults. 
  • Student Dental Program Since 2020, we have informally provided dental treatment for students in the scholarship program and some of their family members. 
  • Health Care Center -We are raising funds to build the first health care center in La Libertad. The center is truly needed. There is currently an outbreak of intestinal worms and scabies in La Libertad. These very treatable diseases make it difficult for students to do well in school. We hope to build the center in 2021.