"It is more than just the needs of these communities… It is the responsibility of the world to help."
Dr. Garcia Meza, Epidemiologist, Regional Hospital of Iquitos2009: Florida International University (FIU) Study-Abroad in the Amazon
Florida International University (Miami, FL) students spent 4 weeks in the Amazon in June and July 2009 as part of the second annual Amazon Program offered through The Honors College at FIU. Based at the Madre Selva Biological Station, the FIU students engaged in service learning projects at the field station and with local communities. Coming from a wide range of disciplines, the students worked on education, conservation, and cultural revitalization projects that they themselves had developed in consultation with the two professors - Dr. James Riach (Environmental Studies, Honors) and Project Amazonas' own Dr. Devon Graham, who also teaches in The Honors College at FIU.
One group of students focused on working with students from local elementary schools, developing classroom activities and health education projects, as well as skits for a public presentation. Others worked with adults in the communities - designing and constructing sanitary latrines, gathering information on woman's issues and concerns, and working to collect and record traditional lore and music for return to the community. Still others worked at recording local fisheries practices and catches, establishment of an experimental fish pond, and recording and documenting and photographing the herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles) of the Madre Selva Biological Station. Select student reports will be published on the website shortly.
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