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AN APECA VOLUNTEER’S STORY By Teri Coombes, 2006 APECA Work Team Member There aren’t a lot of people who would consider two weeks of backbreaking work in the humid Amazon jungle a vacation. I myself wasn’t sure what to expect. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go, especially after the travel doctor told me about all the diseases I could catch there. However, this past June, I found myself kissing my husband goodbye and boarding the plane to Peru. We landed in Lima then flew to Iquitos. After being greeted by Gina Low (and it seemed hundreds of motocarro drivers, each competing for our patronage), we went to Gina’s house, our staging area before getting onto the boat and riding to El Fundo the next day. Right away we were put to work hauling bricks that were delivered the night before from the riverbank to higher ground. Then we started preparing the doorframes and doors for the new dormitory, as well as the rafters. For the remainder of the week we cut and planed boards and planned the layout of the rafters. Suddenly, the end of the week was upon us and we boarded the boat and returned to Iquitos. During our stay at El Fundo we met Mara, a college student from the US who was working with Gina for five weeks, Maggie, a young lady from Iquitos who recently graduated from the national university (UNAP) with a degree in agriculture, and the current Guardian, Ulysses. The second half of our group met us in Iquitos that weekend. Then we returned to El Fundo where we hauled even more bricks off the riverbank and then hoisted the five 10-meter-long rafters and put them in place on top of the dormitory with a lot of sweat, grunting, and teamwork. When the last rafter was in place, the week was over and we left El Fundo for the last time in our trip. We were lucky enough to have Gina and Pablo Guerra take us to visit Nuevo Progreso where we got to see the water tank built as a joint project between Rotary International and APECA. We also visited San Francisco de Angamos, a village where APECA is facilitating a community reforestation project. As we toured around Peru during our third week, we visited Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Pisac, Machu Picchu, Aguas Calientes, and finally, Lima. We learned a lot about the different cultures and histories within this same country. We also witnessed local politics in action when, on July 4th of all days, the farmers of Cusco and the surrounding towns went on strike, placing roadblocks on the streets and giving demonstrations in their town squares. Finally, the week ended and so did our stay in Peru. Although I am sure most of us were looking forward to being at home again, we were surprised at how fast the previous weeks flew by. Sitting at home, amid all our creature comforts, it’s difficult to imagine there are people in the world who live with so much less. This experience for me has truly been a learning experience. It also has made me feel a part of what APECA stands for. I do hope to return to El Fundo in the future to continue to help. I don’t think I would label my time in Peru as a “vacation”, but a growing experience that I would recommend to anyone. DIRECTOR’S REPORT NOTES:
The turtles in our Turtle Project win the prize for quiet and easy maintenance of an endangered species. However the dogs have a fit when any migratory attempt is made and have been known to attack the feet of the turtles—not a good situation when turtles are trying to reach the riverbank to lay eggs. The solution was to build a fence about a meter high around the pond and a sand path to the sand bed nursery where they can lay their eggs in new-found peace and quiet. We have worked on conservation and reforestation-related projects with our GDL (Global Development Links) students. An observation post has been built in the virgin forest with the help of energetic volunteers and includes a septic system. They also planted seed beds for a nursery that included 4,000 caoba seeds, capirona trees and yarina palms. The community of San Francisco de Angamos worked side-by-side with the student volunteers. Pablo Guerra, Project Director of APECA, said the students will always be remembered by the villagers, “This is what APECA is about for me. These trees will grow and provide the community with needed materials, some income, and provide the world with oxygen. Five years from now when we are using the seeds from these trees, we will still be able to see the students working beside us.” We have no specified funding for this reforestation project and would like to plant 40,000 trees. We also need to provide education about the project to the villagers to help keep interest and incentive high. - Gina Low, Executive Director BOARD BIO: DR. ANDREW CRAWFORD
Dr. Crawford is a member of the US Board of Directors for APECA. Here is his story in his words: I was born in London, England, in 1952, and my early childhood experiences included living in Nigeria and then Egypt for about 8 years. My early education included various mission and church schools and then boarding school in England. Then we moved to Canada, but the experiences in Nigeria and Egypt had already had an enormous impact on me. I can still recall with great clarity the privileged life we lived while those around me lived with pride but with little. Education continued in Canada, after high school and C.E.G.E.P. a BSc. at Bishop’s University in Quebec followed by an MSc. at The University of Guelph in Ontario. Anxious to start work I took a job in R&D with the H.J. Heinz Company in Canada where I worked for 4 years in food research. Feeling that something was missing in my life I went back to school to complete a Ph.D. at Queens University, Kingston. My daughter was born and we went to England so that I could complete a post doc at Cambridge University. While in the UK, H.J. Heinz World HQ caught up with me and offered me a job with their corporate research in Pittsburgh. I traveled extensively in Europe and the US promoting research concepts and advantages. Still searching I took a job with the R&D branch of Tetralaval Foods in Sweden which was short-lived and then I moved to California to put together an R&D lab for Nutro Products Inc., a small petfood company. Ten years ago I joined a local Rotary Club and became both interested and involved in Rotary’s international projects. We have built science labs for schools and drilled wells where water was needed. This has become an important way for me to “give back”. Two years ago after completing a work project at El Fundo, APECA asked me to join the USA board, and here I am. APECA TOUR OPPORTUNITY 2007
By Ruth Abel, Chair of the Board, APECA We are very excited to announce a tour of Peru to benefit APECA. It will be led by Dr. Phil Rasori and organized by ORVIS. The dates are August 1-10, 2007, with a two day, two night extension to visit APECA. The itinerary will include Machu Picchu, Cusco, and the Sacred Valley of the Incas, focusing on the vibrant culture of the Quechua, the direct descendants of the Inca. The trip begins with the sacred Urubamba Valley and visits to the spectacular Inca sites at Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Then on to the world-famous Inca ceremonial center of Machu Picchu. We will return by train to Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire and visit Inca and Spanish colonial sites. The group will also visit the Quecha villages of Chinchero, Urcos, and Moray, with chances to meet the people and their traditional healers. The APECA extension of the trip will include a tour of Iquitos, one night in a hotel, and a reception to meet our staff , the Peruvian board, and other contributing volunteers form the local community. We will then take a trip up the Amazon on a launch to visit the APECA study center at El Fundo and some of our local projects in the villages. We will spend the night in the rustic but comfortable APECA dormitories, and be back in Iquitos in time to catch the plane for Lima and home. The $2,990 trip price includes all tours, accommodations, meals and visits to archeological sites and the Quechua villages. Group size is limited to 16. Airfare is separate and will be approximately $1300 depending on the point of departure (this includes the airfare for the APECA extension, a cost of $500). Deadline for deposits is February 1, 2007. Dr. Phil Rasori has led multiple educational seminars to this area and has trekked the Inca Trail three times. He currently has a photographic exhibit of people of endangered cultures called “Portraits from the Edge” in Santa Monica, California, and another in Pacific Grove, California. He is also the director of Global Survivor International and the medical director of Village HopeCore International. The two organizations jointly operate a highly successful micro-enterprise and HIV prevention and treatment program for poor village women in Kenya. He has a great interest in natural medicine as practiced by indigenous people. For more information and to obtain complete trip itineraries, contact Orvis Travel at (800) 547-4322 or e-mail Orvis at orvis_travel@orvis.com. Here is your chance to visit APECA and see the amazing work that Gina Low and Pablo Guerra are doing along the Amazon. All of our visitors come back impressed with the work that APECA does. Join us for the adventure of a lifetime! |