SUMMER SPONSOR REPORT / PERU 2022

2022 NBHF Team in San Juan de Yanayacu The 2022 Nevada Building Hope Foundation Team, included Barbara Land, Dustin Pinedo Gonzales, Linda Osmond Wirth, Dani Aizenman, Phylis Ooi, Mykel Miller, and Cami Berg. We were joined by our team from Tulane University, Dr. Katherine Raymond and Dr. Carolyn Bayer, along with their five students. It is an honor to work with these outstanding educators and their bright and refreshing students. On our arrival, we were greeted as if we were royalty in both Ayacucho and San Juan de Yanayacu Villages. The community members, the children, and the teachers were all on the riverbank waiting for us to arrive. It was a very touching experience for all of us. We could feel the love of all present. We appreciate our sponsors, without your support of the children our projects would not be possible. The children know and appreciate all of you. Those of you who sent photos, the children were so excited to receive them! Your photos adorn the walls of so many little homes in the jungle.

Linda Osmond Wirth The dedicated sponsor of Angie, Linda Osmond Wirth delighted the children this trip by painting all their names on her pants! It was so much fun watching them search for their names plus the names of their friends on her slacks which resembled a piece of art. Linda has been an angel to NBHF, her generosity has helped in so many life-changing projects. Last fall she purchased boots for every child in all three communities, thus saving the lives of one or more children from a poisonous snake bite. If ever there was an angel on this earth, it would be Linda Osmond Wirth. She has embraced these children living in the jungle who have so little and made each and every one of them her own. The Board of NBHF would like to sincerely thank Linda for her kind and generous heart.

We started our trip at the Grand Amazon Lodge. The owners, Patrizia Marchese, Yair Aizenman and Dani Aizenman, were present aboatt the lodge upon our arrival. The owners and their staff helped us sort out the massive school uniform and backpack project. 110 children were provided with school uniform, shorts and a top for physical education, tennis shoes, socks, underwear, and a backpack. We provided the teachers with a year of school supplies for each child. We appreciated Grand Amazon’s hospitality and the chance to stay in their beautiful lodge. We also thank Alfredo Dosantos, Grand Amazon Lodge Manager, for his continual support of our work in San Juan de Yanayacu. The Tulane students and the NBHF team were given many opportunities to learn about the culture of the jungle communities. We went on jungle walks and boat rides to experience the beauty of the Amazon. NBHF community leader, Mina Ahuanari Carbajal, taught classes on how to clean fish and cook traditional jungle meals. Mykel Miller, a University of Nevada student had a marvelous time learning to clean and cook fish. His attempt at this endeavor led to a very entertaining afternoon for us all. Mina is charming and is well-loved by all who meet her.

The USS Dani/NBHF new school boat launched this June to San Juan de Yanayacu. Barbara Land and Dani Aizenman (Advisory NBHF Board Member) drove the boat to the community and presented it to the village authorities with much fanfare. In April 2022, Barbara and Dustin witnessed the high school students of San Juan paddling to high school in canoes and small boats. They were horrified! The children would do anything to attend school daily. This daily journey was perilous and dangerous. Between the fast currents and water plants, this was a disaster just waiting to happen. Through the generosity and a campaign led by Linda Osmond Wirth, we raised enough money to build the children a boat. This boat is a traditional wooden boat, with a big motor, it is covered with a thatched roof to protect the children from the elements, and it is equipped with safety vests. We thank our generous sponsors, Linda Osmond Wirth, Jean Bramam, Phylis Ooi, and Peter Jung. NBHF provided the community with one year of gas for the cost of gas for the school year. On this trip, we distributed Advil, Tylenol, Hydrocortisone Cream, Antibiotic Ointment, Multivitamins, eye drops, and Calcium (for women over 65) to our community members. We work with the medic in the medical post located in Porvenir for his guidance on the distribution of these over-the-counter medications. We thank our team for covering the expenses of these medications.

The new high school in Ayacucho Village is going strong. We currently have 30 students in the first, second, and third grades. Before the new high school opened, the children living in Ayacucho, San Juan de Yanayacu, and Junin Villages who wanted a high school education had to relocate to another community as far as eight hours away. The children attending schools in these faraway villages resided Monday through Friday with a relative, a family friend, or a communal dormitory and only returned home to their families when school was on holiday. The high school’s great distance presented many hardships for the families. The cost of the gasoline, lodging, and food for the child to attend school was beyond the means of the families living in these poor communities. It was wonderful to see children forced to live in other communities now home and attending high school in Ayacucho. Until Phase II of the new high school opened for classes in March 2022, 90% of the students living in our rural jungle communities received only a primary school education. High school education was only a dream and not a lived reality. We continue to express our gratitude and the deepest appreciation to Bailey Ahn and Maksym Taren for the funding of the high school in Ayacucho Village. Bailey and Maksym are Board Members of NBHF. We also want to acknowledge Dan Arnold (sponsor of Neymar) for funding all the furniture for the new high school.

The Nevada Building Hope Foundation would like to thank and acknowledge our teachers working in our communities: Ayacucho Village: • Mr. Walter Navarro Paredes – (Director/Principal) • Wilma Edith Guevara Melendez • Melisa Alcalde • Alfonso Rengifo • Miguel Ruiz San Juan de Yanayacu: • Felipe Santiago Ayambo • Rufino Curico Mendoza Junin: • Kelinda Amparos Bardales Gonzales • Milagros de Jesus Sias Arrante After a meeting with the community and the principal Mr. Walter Navarro Paredes, we learned that the high school can only accommodate students to the fourth grade. (2023) In Peru, a high school education includes grades one through five. We are in discussion about the construction of the last classroom and the joining teacher’s office by 2024. Phylis Ooi, donated $5,000 to the project. The school will be built under the leadership of Iquitos contractor, Luis Viena Reatgegui. The physical construction of the school will be done by the members of the community. Continuing in their generosity, Maksym and Bailey funded an adult education program. This program provides the adults living in both Ayacucho and San Juan de Yanayacu villages the opportunity to learn to read and write. Walter Antonio Navarro Paredes (Principal of the Ayacucho Schools) organized the adult program. The adult program is being taught by the teachers currently working in the communities. The parents are extremely grateful for this opportunity and to see the parents attending school in the evening was very touching and rewarding.

We were introduced to a 13-year-old boy who was brought to San Juan Village after his mother died of COVID in Iquitos City. The child was alone in the world and was taken to live with his aunt. The young family was living in a small shanty without a place to sleep. Martin de Silva, the owner of Curassow Lodge and Board Member of NBHF, provided the two children with bunk beds. Curassow Lodge has been the home of NBHF for many years and as always, Martin and his staff were generous and accommodating to this child and his family. We stayed two weeks at the Curassow Lodge with our friends/family who provided our team with excellent service and a helping hand when needed. Dustin Pinedo Gonzales along with Mr. Walter Antonio Navarro Paredes are searching for this young boy’s documents in order to get him enrolled in school in San Juan. NBHF will provide him with shoes and clothes which he greatly needs. I assured him the day I left Peru, that we would help him get settled in his new world. NBHF is currently helping a young boy from San Juan who needs lip/palate surgery in Lima. Dustin is starting the long process to get this young boy the care he needs. This child is being raised by his grandparents.

We are excited about the continual growth of our foundation and we are honored by the support we have received these past years. Our collaboration with The White Feather Foundation will surely lead to many projects that will both benefit the environment and the people. The entire Board of Directors of Nevada Building Foundation/USA and Peru, will continue in our mission to further aid and support the people living in the remote Amazon. The humanitarian aid and educational projects we do in Peru would not be possible without our sponsors from around the world. We thank each and every one of you!