Venezuela 1997

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Peru 1996

Belen on the Amazon
October 1996

The team of approximately 35 people worked in one of the most difficult environments we had ever seen. The village of Belen is on the Amazon River, and directly in the path of the sewer runoff from the city of Iquitos. The village structures are built high on stilts or floating platforms, as half of the year the river level is over their boundaries. The rest of the year the structures settle in the sewage and filth.

Thousands of people live here surviving with a meager existence. Care from those that have more in Iquitos was non-existent, as they literally referred to the people of Belen as the "Throw-Aways." About 600 people were in line each morning, having waited in line all night to ensure a space. Each volunteer was touched on this trip and changed forever.