THE HUAORANI OF THE ECUADORIAN AMAZON:
CHILDREN OF THE OIL
August 1-11, 2012
The Huaorani of the Ecuadorian Amazon once numbered in the tens of thousands and possessed a much more extensive territory than they do today. Today they number only around 2,000, and their territory continues to face the threat of oil development and colonization. Huaorani lands situated in the northern provinces of the Oriente were severely affected early on, and today six oil concession blocks overlap Huaorani territory. For the Huaorani, the history of the last three decades has been one of encroachment on their land by oil companies and usurpers, both Mestizo colonists and other indigenous groups alike. Contamination and loss of hunting grounds have caused the Huaorani to flee from advancing “civilization,” while they simultaneously fight a rearguard battle to preserve some vestige of their autonomy. (more…)
Rob Williams: I signed up to travel to India with SalaamGarage without knowing quite what to expect. IT was the first overseas trip of my adult life (if you don’t count the weeklong drinking binge in Scotland after my senior year of high school). More than anything, I think I just wanted to verify that the world is a real place. After two weeks with the SalaamGarage group, and four more weeks traveling on my own – drifting past laundry lines in the backwaters of Kerala, pausing in front of vivid hand-painted billboards in Tamil Nadu, and wandering through fish markets in Mumbai – I am definitely more convinced about the reality of the world, especially when I look at some of the photographs I took along the way.
Rob Williams is a mercenery copywriter and copy editor who lives above a meat market in the East Village in New York City. He plans to continue traveling – and writing – as much as he can.
Eduardo Sciammarella: One of the most profound moments of the trip for me occurred while visiting the rural village of Shampura outside Jaipur. I interviewed a woman named Santosh Kanwar. She’s 26 with four little ones-Anshuman, Radha, Deepika, and Abnishiek. She touched me deeply as it gets when she answered my question, “What has been the biggest change for you since you joined the women’s self-help group?” She said that she had finally learned the first names of all the women in her village. Up until then, they had only known each other as so-and-so’s wife. Step one on the path to independence-identity.
Eduardo Sciammarella is a social entrepreneur and photographer. He is currently CEO and Co-founder of GatherGreen - a daily deal site featuring local sustainable businesses. Eduardo attended the Institute of Design where he studied photography and industrial design. For over ten years Eduardo was one of Sony’s elite designers working on advanced concepts in both product and interaction design. He is the inventor of over 40 patents and winner of several international design awards. In 2004 Eduardo established Protohaus – a design innovation consultancy – clients include Apple, Disney, Microsoft, Nokia, Samasung, and Sony.
Eduardo is a strong believer in citizen journalism. His first experience with citizen journalism was with SalaamGarage, he says, “We need to re-imagine documentary storytelling by traveling and listening to how others struggle to live on our planet today. It’s vital that we gift these stories to our friends and family.” Eduardo traveled with SalaamGarage to India in 2009.
Eduardo will lead the SalaamGarage 2012 trip to Ecuador!
My memories of India include vignettes of beauty, romance, living history, intrigue, and stark reality. Vatsalya has changed my views on what an NGO should be. It’s more than an organization that helps people. They are a family who believe in wholeness in their care of people. The leaders have made this their life’s mission and their fingerprint of love is evident in all respects.
Udayan is a home that will always be a place of constant consistent love and acceptance no matter the circumstances. Isn’t that what we all long for and need more than anything?
The reciprocal nature of the people who are touched by Vatsalya is contagious and it’s evident from those who lead there today.
My heart goes out to those working hard for a better tomorrow for all. My love goes to Vatsalya and the children of Udayan, my respect goes out to Jaimala and Hitesh. To know them is a great privilege, their commitment to causes greater than themselves has shown me what sacrifice, hard work and vision can produce.
Ponzi’s given name is Latthanapon Indharasophang. She is a media producer and tech innovator with expertises in mortgage banking, but her heart is in the arts. Her secret desire is to take a year or two and travel around the world. She prizes nothing more than experiencing different cultures and meeting new people.
The more open and willing I am to fully immerse in the new, the more I am gifted with the reminder that, at the bottom of things, I am everything and everywhere. The illusion of separation is busted. Freedom is found. And I am able to understand, in a visceral and tangible way, that we really are all the same. Salaam Garage India 2009 was a powerful lesson in how our stories collide in an instant and we are reflected in all that we meet. I am beyond grateful for the doorways opened on that trip, the truth seen in eyes and heard in words spoken. I believe, wholly, that these images and stories have the potential to expand for the better both the lives of those visited, who were brave enough to allow themselves to be seen, and those fortunate enough to witness and respond.
Lisa Field-Elliot is a photographer and writer who seeks travel, beauty, and connection. Anytime. Anywhere. She shares her experiences in words and images at doorwaystraveler.com, with the hopes of inspiring you to look for the next doorway to greater freedom in your own life.
Amanda Koster: Vatsalya’s mobile van goes out with its team and parks in a slum location. Street children gather to paint, play sports, and do writing exercises. A cleanliness and hygiene drive is conducted, followed by discussions on child rights and the Juvenile Justice Act of India. At these camps, Vatsalya finds orphaned and abandoned children for Udayan. Children with parents are encouraged to go to other schools.
During the cleanliness and hygiene drive, a Vatsalya water truck delivers water to the children of the Samvedna slum for bathing, one or two times a week. It was exhilarating to be around the children as they splashed around in the water. Their joy was infectious and I didn’t mind at all when my camera lens also got a bath. As you can see, this was a pretty good day.
Maggie Soladay: In 2003, three young orphaned girls were spotted living under a bridge in Kota. A man, who worked for another humanitarian organization, noticed the girls and called Vatsalya’s Udayan Home for Children. Vatsalya dispatched a van that confirmed the man’s suspicions: the girls had no family and were foraging for food and taking care of each other. Seema, Sapna, and Soniya are no w living at Udayan, where they will stay into adulthood. Soniya was 7 years old, Seema, 6, and Sapna 4, when they were found. Now, 5 years later, there is virtually no trace of the life they were surviving under that bridge. Vatsalya helps identify the children’s strong suits and provides practical job training and job placement. Though they are welcome to stay after 18 years old, many will leave and use their education and contacts to support themselves.
Maggie Soladay is an photography editor, producer, and photographer based in NYC. She is a passionate activist, using her knowledge of the old and new media to tackle the world’s humanitarian and environmental problems. Maggie believes everyone has a calling to give back to the communities they care about. While photographers and journalists have a special duty, she says, “We can be officers of justice and social change by putting our media skills to use for good.”
Soladay is the NYC producer-in-chief of SalaamGarage and SalaamGarage Local/NYC. She lead SalaamGarage India 2009 and Ethiopia 2010 trips, and will lead the India 2011.
Full speed ahead, we’ve got an appointment with the king! Notice how no one on the street acts like there is anything unusual going on.
This video is not sped up!
photo by: Kate Fisher, Huaorani man and woman
