Five weeks
and four days before the end of the year, I have to cycle towards my
parent's home in Worcestershire and will finish the two year Biking
Birder adventure at Upton Warren (Worcestershire Wildlife Trust)
nature reserve on December 31st.
That said
I want to spend the final days emphasising why I support the
charities that so many of you have kindly donated to. It really is a
massive boost tome when someone donates or sponsors me. Thank you so
much everyone.
Chaskawasi-Manu,
literally means 'The Home of The Stars.'
Deep in
the Manu National Park in Peru there is a village called Salvacion.
You won't find it on google maps. Well I can. I know where it is!
Located
north east of the High Andean city of Cusco, along the perilous Manu
Road one comes to a number of towns before crossing two large rivers
and reaching Salvacion.
The orange roofed buildings in the centre is Chaskawasi-Manu
On the
western edge of the village is the Chaskawasi-Manu home; a place
where children from much deeper in The Manu rainforest can come and
stay.
http://www.chaskawasi-manu.org/en/
The
website details the Chaskawasi-Manu Project:-
Chaskawasi
Manu already has a history of years in the service of the people of
Manu in general, and the most remote and disadvantaged children in
particular, promoting children’s basic rights such as access to
education and health and respect for the environment and biodiversity
by using resources from sustainability.
Currently
at Chaskawasi Manu live 20 children and adolescents from different
Amazonian native and peasant communities, some of which are more than
5 day’s travel by boat on the Madre de Dios River. Their native
languages are Quechua and Machiguenga although all speak Spanish.
They
are between 9 and 17 years of age and they all come from situations
of social exclusion and extreme poverty. Chaskawasi Manu provides
these children with shelter, food and access to education and health.
But
most of all lots of love and acceptance for all children and families
with whom we share our daily lives.
Meet
some of the children.
The
Manu. An area of over 17,000 square kilometres is protected but under
threat from the outside interests of loggers, oil companies and
various mineral concerns.
As
Wikipedia states :
Manú
National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional del Manu)
is a biosphere reserve located in the Madre de Dios and Paucartambo,
Cusco. Before becoming an area protected by the Peruvian government,
the Manú National Park was conserved thanks to its inaccessibility.
The park remains fairly inaccessible by road to this day. (I will
definitely vouch for that!)
In
1977, UNESCO recognised it as a Biosphere Reserve and in 1987, it was
pronounced a World Heritage Site. It is the largest National Park in
Peru, covering an area of 15,328km². The Biosphere Reserve includes
an additional 2,570km², and a further 914km² are included in a
"Cultural Zone" (which also is afforded a level of
protection), bringing the total area up to 18,811km².
The
park protects several ecological zones ranging from as low as 150
meters above sea level in parts of the South west Amazon moist
forests to Peruvian Yungas at middle elevations to Central Andean wet
puna at altitudes of 4200 meters. Because of this topographical
range, it has one of highest levels of biodiversity of any park in
the world. Overall, more than 15,000 species of plants are found in
Manú, and up to 250 varieties of trees have been found in a single
hectare. The reserve is a destination for birdwatchers from all over
the world, as it is home to over 1000 species of birds, more than the
number of bird species found in the United States and Canada combined
and almost 10% of the world's total bird species. It is also
acclaimed as having one of the highest abundances of land vertebrates
ever found in Latin American tropical forests.
A vital
area that desperately needs the continuance of the protection
measures already in place but are being eroded daily.
I believe
that the children are vital part of the forest's future. Their
education will give indigenous peoples a voice in the years to come.
Meeting the children it is inspiring to see their love for the
forest, their communities and their way of life.
Hence I am
asking you to please give a donation to the project. I will be back
there in April next year, a moment I can't wait for. If you do make a
donation then please say so on here as a comment or go to my facebook
page :
or
and either
comment or message me. I don't get to see donations to
Chaskawasi-Manu and I would be thrilled to hear from anyone
supporting this fabulous project. Thanks.
Donations link . . .
or click on the Chaskawasi-Manu link at the top ofthe page on the right hand side.
Let's
finish with a few photographs from the last time I was there:-
And some of the birds. . . .
and some of the other special wildlife. . .
Thank you. xx