The Children of the Manu, Peru - Chaskawasi Manu

If you take a crafty peek towards the right hand side of this page you will find the four links to the four charities that I am supporting this year.

My cycling efforts are for these wonderful and vital charities and projects.

Over the next four weeks I intend to give further details of each in turn; telling you why I support them and asking nicely that please make a small donation towards them. Use the links on the right. Thanks.

If you could maybe sponsor me 1p (or more) for each bird specie I see in this BIGBY (Big Green Big Year) then that would be wonderful and a spur for my pedalling feet. All money I raise this way will be shared between these charities unless you want to support an individual one.

At the moment of typing I have seen exactly 250 bird species this year. The aim is for 300 remember so if I succeed I am asking you to sponsor me £3, or your currency equivalent. If you want to take this option then please message me – bikingbirder2010@hotmail.com

OK let's find out about the amazing children of the Amazonian forest in The Manu, Peru.

First a word from the project manager, Maria:-

Yuri is 16 years old. He is in the final year of high school. He wants to be a forestry engineer and to work to protect the forest in which he has lived with his family, the Manu.

Parari loves animals and it now seems clear his vocation will be with the nature he loves. He can recognise a dozen birds simply by how they beat their wings.

Located in the Manu National Park in Peru, the Chaskawasi –Manu project gives the opportunity for children from deep in the rainforest to get an education.

It gives one a chance to meet, study and enjoy the company of the amazing children and adolescents from remote Amazonian communities.

Food, medicine, transportation, books, notebooks and a long list of basic items that every child in the world needs to go to school. To get this many things are needed. These children spend 9 months of the school year at the shelter away from their homes and parents. They need to feel loved, supported by the values ​​of solidarity, generosity and community living as they would in their homes.

Educate and learn to give voice to children in a culture excluded from our everyday reality. The forest is the center of the life of a Matsigenka, their whole way of life, beliefs and culture depend on it. The project looks out from the forest to enrich and teach anyone willing to approach these children. For the cost of a latte or a day trip on public transportation, Yuri can take care of their Amazon rainforest; protect it from illegal logging and preserve the environment of his community. Parari can protect the colourful species of the jungle. The Matsigenka, through the quality education of their children, will continue to live in peace in the land they love. The Manu rainforest we all need will be protected by them.

Donate now and support the future of the forest through it's children. The future of the forest depends on it.

My support of the project comes from my visits there in 2014. To meet and become friends with such incredible children and staff was a tremendous occurrence. The childrens' love of each other and their rainforest shines through their everyday actions and through their commitment to their education. They, these brave and lovely children, spend months away from their families in order to learn how to ambassadors for their way of life and communities. They have dreams and ambitions like all children. Their commitment deserves our support.

So please go to their website.....

http://www.chaskawasi-manu.org/en/

Use the link to the right. Please if you can donate or sponsor.

Meanwhile a few photographs from my visit there in 2014.

Location of the Student Shelter Chaskawasi Manu Project (Perú)

The Student Shelter Chaskawasi Manu is located in the town of Salvation, the capital of the Province of Manu (Peru), geographical area corresponding to the cultural area of the Manu Biosphere Reserve.

The Manu Biosphere Reserve is located southwest of Peru, partially located in the regions of Madre de Dios and Cusco, in the provinces of Manu and Paucartambo with an area of 1.909.800 hectares is divided into three main areas:

• The National Park, with 1.532.806 hectares.
• Reserved Zone, with 257.000 hectares.
• The Cultural or Transition Zone, with 120.000 hectares.

Manu National Park was established on May 29, 1973 by Government Decree Nº 0644-73-AG. It is located in the departments of Cusco and Madre de Dios.

Manu National Park has been recognized as a World Heritage Site in 1987, and in 1977 UNESCO recognized it as the core of the Biosphere Reserve area.

Manu National Park is part of the great biological diversity of the Amazon. It is likewise one of the most important gene banks worldwide. According to its recent management plan, it contains more than 3.500 registered plant species, many of them still unidentified. The variety of Manu Wildlife is impressive: 160 species of mammals, more than 1.000 species of birds, 140 species of amphibians, 50 species of snakes, 40 species of lizards, 6 species of turtles, 3 species of alligators and 210 species of fish.

Summary of the Project

The Student Shelter Chaskawasi Manu was created with the intention of addressing the social and environmental problems, especially among children and adolescents in the area of Salvation in Manu Biosphere Reserve, Madre de Dios, Peru.

Currently twenty children and adolescents with poor access to education, from Amazonian native and peasant communities are living in our shelter which ensures their access to education, identity and health, so that they can exercise their basic rights of children and adolescents due to them.