THE "FORGOTTEN PEOPLE" OF THE AMAZON

Deep in the heart of Peru's Amazon region the community of Belen lies on the banks of the mighty Amazon River. The residents of Belen literally live on the water in huts constructed either on fixed pilings or wooden floats. They live like this because they simply can't afford to buy or rent property on land. Most of these people are able to make just enough money to feed their family, no more. Many Peruvians refer to such people living below the poverty line as Peru's "forgotten people."

The majority of the residents live with serious health problems including pneumonia, parasites, anemia, skin infections, dysentery, hepatitis, and malnutrition. Most residents live with hunger on a daily basis. The distended belly, rotten teeth and thinning, lightly tinted hair of the child suffering from malnutrition is an all too common sight. Almost every family I met had lost at least one infant due to some ailment. A nearby clinic verified that over 99 percent of these people live with hepatitis. A daily activity is combing each other's hair for lice. A cat or dog is often kept to kill the rats which swim about at night and enter the dwellings. Most people sleep on the floor just inches from the water which leads to pneumonia and other respiratory infections. The waters of the Itaya River are extremely polluted in this area. A town on the banks of the river drains its sewage directly into the river just two hundred meters upriver from Belen. Residents urinate and defecate directly into the river through floating outhouses which are sometimes just a few feet from their dwelling. They have no choice but to use this same river water to drink, cook, wash clothes, bathe and swim.

It's sad that these people seem to have been truly forgotten by the rest of society. It's almost impossible for them to have any vision of a better life without poverty, hunger and sickness. Yet, despite their hardships, they are among the most proud and kind people I have ever encountered.