Indigenous empowerment for Amazonian youth

Indigenous peoples are the best stakeholders in promoting conservation and sustainable development in the Amazon. 'Indigenous Empowerment' is a program that aims to enhance leadership skills and cross-cultural knowledge among Peruvian Amazonian indigenous students in order to promote their involvement in the fate of the future of the Amazon’s environment, their home.

This educational program has two main goals: first, to provide participants an opportunity to experience Andean culture, which despite being accessible globally for wealthy tourists, is not a culture they have the opportunity to observe, learn from, and share with. Our second, higher-order goal is that this cultural immersion provides ideas and motivation for participants to become leaders, strengthening their own communities in the Amazon. For this, we want to bring 7 to 10 indigenous young adults on a 2-week journey in late July 2020.

Campaign timing: From Feb 23 to March 24 (we have only four weeks!!!)

I am partnering with organizations supporting local indigenous youth, like Chaikuni Institute in Iquitos and Alianza Arkana in Pucallpa, for a successful and widespread call to initiate this program in July or August of this year.

The money requested will be spent in this way: Daily expenses = $1600, in-country flight tickets = $1000, Machu Picchu visit = $400.

We want to share with you, more closely, the impact of our program. Even a $5 donation would help. However, consider these impossible to miss rewards:

·     If you donate more than $20: you will learn first hand from all the participants while we travel and reflect together from our experiences and our role protecting the Amazon rainforest, every time that we post a note in our Journey Blog (both in Spanish and English).

·      From $50: same as with $20, plus Postcards and little presents from us from our trip.

·      From $100: same as with $50, plus video call with us. We’ll love to know more about you and share more about our exciting experience, get to know the participants more closely.

Not able to watch the video? Try here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_8VQWwB9ZQ
AQUI VERSION EN ESPAÑOL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5-dNCp-me0

Who's organizing? 
I am Vanessa Luna, a PhD student in Interdisciplinary Ecology program at the University of Florida (USA), with over ten years of experience in ecological research and conservation in the Peruvian Amazon. For the last three years, I led cross-cultural educational programs for teenagers from the USA in the Andes Amazon region.
Want to know more about me, this program and the selection process? Check out my webpage: https://lunacelino.wordpress.com/