American tourist goes to Peru to make a film, stays to clean the Amazon.

American, Xena Radnor, visited Peru in 2017 to study plant-based medicines, like Ayahuasca, for personal growth and to film a documentary.

After arriving, she heard of a village called Belén, in Iquitos, which was told to be one of the most run-down and ignored places in the country. Because of its location, the Peruvian government does not send aid and their trash collects, yearly, in the rivers that run through the village. Their waste collects in the water and, every year, the water rises and takes the trash out to sea (or deeper into the Amazon jungle).

Xena was moved, and began rallying the locals to do something about the trash. It was not out of laziness, she found, that they did not keep the waterways clean, but because there was no trash removal system in place and little to no education about the value of sanitation.

23844743_10159702590825475_4185296191460761012_n.jpg
Radnor, with some of the children in Iquitos

She began her movement to inspire the locals to help clean the land they live on - and people came out. Hundreds, thousands. From surrounding villages, people poured into Iquitos to help clean. The children were the most excited to help.

Local and national news networks picked up the story and the movement gained speed. Donations rolled in, with which they were able to buy trash bags, gloves and suits for those that have to wade through the dirty water. In 11 days, they were able to remove 7,000 bags of trash from the river. The before and after images are incredible.

Here is some of what it looked like when the clean-up began:

26112248_10159858233235475_2434371287563414999_n.jpg

26112380_10159858233410475_4396393048607674984_n.jpg

26047197_10159858233115475_5687808488948017345_n.jpg

26167117_10159858233350475_3234967492850444329_n.jpg

Once the community came out, the effort went into overdrive. They were able to clean more than anyone had anticipated.

25289471_10159801270385475_9106115239107697848_n.jpg

24909848_10159773074920475_7551344632525600059_n.jpg

24993666_10159773076840475_854579322544044058_n.jpg

24796683_10159764388505475_2056345278701146045_n.jpg

26055909_10159858233325475_3378293308538043926_n.jpg

26047104_10159858233290475_153594972162549270_n.jpg

26166205_10159858233135475_910558701348120367_n.jpg

It has been a resounding success for the people that live on the waterway. Radnor continues to head the effort and is currently in the process of raising funds to continue bringing in more of the materials needed and to establish a school to teach the children about being clean.

Iquitos is located at the northern mouth of the Amazon and is considered a gateway to the "lungs of the earth," as one of the last, large, villages before the jungle really takes hold. Cleaning it and bringing it the attention it deserves is a huge thing people in the western world can do to help.

You can follow the project on Radnor's Facebook page and even help donate to her cause by sharing the message or funding the progress.

As Radnor barrels toward creating a non-profit, she is receiving donations for materials at:

PayPal - [email protected]

Venmo - Ramona-McGowan

Sort:  

Ty for sharing and the effort over all! Massive respect!

Congratulations @iancrossland, you have decided to take the next big step with your first post! The Steem Network Team wishes you a great time among this awesome community.


Thumbs up for Steem Network´s strategy

The proven road to boost your personal success in this amazing Steem Network

Do you already know that awesome content will get great profits by following these simple steps, that have been worked out by experts?

It's good to see you on steemit, Ian. Looking forward to catching up again soon.

Congratulations @iancrossland! You received a personal award!

1 Year on Steemit

Click here to view your Board

Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:

SteemWhales has officially moved to SteemitBoard Ranking
SteemitBoard - Witness Update

Support SteemitBoard's project! Vote for its witness and get one more award!

Congratulations @iancrossland! You received a personal award!

Happy Birthday! - You are on the Steem blockchain for 2 years!

You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking

Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!