Support life, donate for Amazonía
Why do we ask fo your support for the amazonian indigenous people?
- Because the cases of Covid-19 contagion increase in the Colombian Amazon and the risk of contagion in the Amazonian peoples can be disastrous if immediate measures are not taken.
- Because the Amazon lacks basic conditions such as hospital infrastructure, medical personnel, and access routes to face the pandemic.
- Because historically, the Amazon has been abandoned by the State, despite being «the lung of the world».
- Because we need to protect the indigenous peoples who are the ancestral guardians of the rainforest.
- Because if the older ones leave, they take with them knowledge, stories, a lot of wisdom.
DID YOU KNOW THAT…?
- The Amazon represents almost half (¿44%) of the territory of Colombia occupying 50,614,451 hectares.
- The Amazon includes the departments of Putumayo, Amazonas, Caquetá, Vaupés, Guaviare and Guainía.
- There are 64 Indigenous Peoples that live in this region.
- The Amazon is characterized by having many indigenous peoples, several of them with less than 500 people.
- In the Amazon there are more than 10 indigenous peoples that are in a state of voluntary isolation.
- More than 51 languages are spoken in the Amazon
- Most of the languages spoken in the Amazon have less than 1,000 speakers.
- According to the Caro y Cuervo institute, a language with less than 2,000 speakers is considered to be in a state of vulnerability and with less than 100 speakers is considered at serious risk.
- According to the linguist Jon Landaburu “of the 65 languages of Colombia, 51 are Amazon languages (78%).
- The Constitutional Court has ruled on the risk that Amazonian people have of becoming physically or culturally extinct.
- Many amazonian indigenous have migrated to populated centers, either because of their condition as a victim of the conflict or in search of life opportunities.
- Leticia’s hospital staff have resigned due to a lack of labor and health guarantees.
THIS HUGE DIVERSITY IS AT RISK, NOT ONLY DUE TO THE DEFORESTATION THAT DESTROYS OUR TERRITORY, THE DEGRADATION OF OUR RAINFOREST AND VARIOUS THREATS, BUT ALSO BY COVID 19.
TIMELINE
COVID 19 – AMAZONIA
The Amazonian peoples could disappear!
The Organization for Indigenous Peoples of Colombian Amazonia (OPIAC) represents around 64 indigenous ethnic groups currently living in Colombian Amazonia (168.572 people, according to 2018 official population census)
How can you get involved to preserve Amazonian diversity during the pandemics?
You can donate to one of our population groups!
1.To Amazonian indigenous people in capital cities:
Due to many reasons, many of our people are living in urban centers and capital cities. Many of them are single mothers, others are university students and some of them are living in crowded shelters. Many medium-sized cities are experiencing supply shortages, hence the prices there have skyrocketed. That’s why you could help us donating things like:
BASIC SUPPORT KIT for university students: Spaghetti, salt, plantains, panela (non-refined sugar cubes), beans, lentils, potatoes, soda crackers, biscuits, powder milk, oatmeal, canned sardines, canned tuna fish, oil, coffee, cocoa, rice, sugar, stationery; biosecurity items, such as N95 washable masks (3 units per person), rubbing alcohol, bleach, gloves; as well as hygiene items, such as soap powder, bar soap, toilet paper, sanitary pads. Economic support to pay the rent is also needed.
You can help donating $316.000 (around US$82) for this kind of kit.
2.We have also designed humanitary support kits aimed at people living in small towns or outside the urban perimeter where shortages are also common, and electricity is not a given. Donations for this kind of kit amount to more money, since transportation to many Amazonian towns is very expensive.
MOCHILA-KIT, including fariña (manioc flour), manioc starch, spaghetti, salt, plantains, panela, dried fish, bushmeat, soda crackers, biscuits, powder milk, oatmeal, batteries, fishhooks, torches, fishing nylon, oil, coffee, chocolate, rice, sugar; biosecurity items, such as N95 washable masks (3 units per person), rubbing alcohol, bleach, gloves; as well as hygiene items, such as soap powder, bar soap, toilet paper, sanitary pads.
You can help donating $417.000 (around US$108) for this kit.
3.We have also planned humanitary support kits for indigenous people currently isolated in their traditional homelands, who at present have no way to stock up on necessary items only available in small towns. Reaching traditional homelands is even more difficult at present, since they are only reachable per boat and fuel prices are higher due to shortages.
FISHING AND CROPLAND KIT: salt, panela, powder milk, batteries, fishhooks, torches, fishing nylon, oil, coffee, cocoa, rice and sugar. Kit includes economic support to buy items such as rubber boots, machete, shovel, hoe, overall, pike and fuel, as well. These items are necessary to work on the croplands and guarantee food supply.
Also needed are biosecurity items, such as N95 washable masks (3 units per person), rubbing alcohol, bleach, gloves; as well as hygiene items, such as soap powder, bar soap, toilet paper, sanitary pads.
You can help donating $518.000 (around US$134) for this kit
The following kits are also aimed at supporting communities in traditional homelands, where coordination between communities is most needed: since communities are very distant from each other and most of the times are only reachable using rivers, boat transportation is necessary to maintain trade and communication.
4.CROP HARVESTING AND PROCESSING KIT: Ovens to toast farina, electric graters, small outboard motors (the so-called peque-peque), fuel
You can donate $400.000 (around US$103) for this kit
5.BASIC COMMUNICATIONS KIT: bullhorn, journalist recorder, 1Tb-Flash card, cellphone and fuel.
You can donate $3’000.000 (around US$773) for this kit
6.SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS KIT: Satellite phone and SIM card
You can donate $5’000.000 (around US$1288) for this kit
There are health centers in some of the Amazonian small towns. Unfortunately, due to lack of funding they are ill-equipped and poorly maintained to give appropriate care to COVID19-patients. We aim at equipping 15 centers. If you want to support our community health centers, you can donate $70’000.000 for a HEALTH PERSONNEL KIT, to provide health workers and centers with much needed supplies.
OTHER OPTIONS:
OPIAC leaders will allocate your donation where it is most needed.
By donating to any of our population groups, under any option, you will get an Amazonian present direct to your smartphone.
TO SUMMARISE: WHAT DO WE WANT TO DO?
We aim at ensuring that Amazonian indigenous peoples are safe for the duration of quarantine (for as long as the indigenous authorities may deem it advisable), and at preventing that people have to travel outside their communities or go outside their homes (regarding our people in the cities), where they can become infected. In our Amazonian territories we would like to have access to health personnel, infrastructure and means of communication in order to contain COVID-19 contagion in Amazonia.
To do so, we need:
*Prices in Colombian pesos (COP). One dollar is around $3.900 COP.
With your contributions we will be able to support 56 indigenous peoples:
WHO PROMOTES THIS INITIATIVE?
We are the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon – OPIAC, a public law entity of a special nature and we represent 64 Amazonian peoples. Our goal is to safeguard the collective and individual rights of our affiliates.
For this initiative, we have the support and accompaniment of various civil society organizations engaged with the Amazon:
For any additional information, you can contact Julio Cesar López, OPIAC General Coordinator. Email: Comunicaciones@opiac.org.co
HOW WILL WE DELIVER YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED THEM?
As a regional entity, OPIAC has contacts in all Amazonian territories through the 56 Associations of Traditional Indigenous Authorities (AATI) that are its affiliates. With them we coordinate the delivery of donations in the territories. Also, our allies, who carry out their activities in different zones of the Amazon, are collaborating to distribute donations in the territories.
To send donations to the Amazonian zones, we have established contact with the military forces, so that, through their support flights, they collaborate with this cause.
Stay tuned: Purchase and delivery reports will be available on our website!
