COVID - Protecting the People who Save Rainforest in Colombia & Brazil

Whilst Amazon.com experienced tremendous growth during the Coronavirus pandemic, indigenous people, the Guardians of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and Colombia, were at tremendous risk. 

Millions of indigenous people died when influenza was brought into South America during the European conquests. COVID-19 had the potential to spread out of control in remote areas of the Amazon, where ventilators and other medical assistance was be literally hundreds of difficult miles away.

In response, Aqua-Firma partner charity, Rainforest Concern, launched an Emergency Appeal to provide isolation kits, designed together with indigenous leaders and shamans in Colombia to secure voluntary community isolation during the peak of the pandemic. This kit supported the indigenous families' way of life, avoiding the need to go into towns, including items to provide food security as well as hygiene and household items.

The same kind of support was delivered to indigenous people of Brazil's Xingu region, helping them to reduce contact by being more self-sufficient, as well as providing hygiene and health supplies.

Aqua-Firma made a donation, in part thanks to people who have booked to join our Cloud Forest trip to Ecuador next April, hosted by BBC Presenter and Rainforest Concern Ambassador, Mike Dilger (@DilgerTV)

For further details, please visit:

www.justgiving.com/campaign/RainforestConcernCovid19Appeal