About us?

AMAZON CHILDREN’S FUND (ACF) born as a non-governmental organization (NGO)

It was founded to promote the development of boys and girls throughout the Amazon.

Our job is to alleviate the urgent needs of children and provide a better future for them.

You have the power to change the life of a child in the Amazon

Foundation

Project Background

Amazonian Children’s Fund Project Background

There are approximately 400 indigenous groups in the Amazon basin, located in eight countries (Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, and Suriname). While there are only approximately 1.5 million Amazonian natives, they live in the largest geographical area of the greater Amazon Basin. The Basin encompasses 7 million square kilometers, which contain half of the world’s remaining rainforest and the most biodiverse region on earth (Goulding, Barthem, and Ferreira 2003). The Amazon is also known as a carbon sink that absorbs one fifth of global-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (Ajl 2010). Because of its rich natural resources, Amazon has been the epicenter of exploitation from the time of the rubber-boom period to the current extraction of timber, gold, natural gas, and petroleum. Parallel to these exploitations, the indigenous peoples have suffered severe violations of their human and territorial rights. Consequently, the Amazon is at the center of international debate; this prominence brings with it an opportunity to galvanize support for the environment and for Amazonian children.

Visión

To holistically empower Amazonian children so that they can impact their communities and environment as guardians of the rainforest today.

The vision of ACF is to have an impact in the greater Amazon with all Amazonian children both indigenous and non-indigenous, but we will start in the Peruvian Amazon with the Shipibo-Konibo nation; then, eventually expand to all selected children in the greater Amazon.

Misión

The mision of Amazonian Children’s Fund is to provide Amazonian children the chance to have a dignified life by providing access to school, health care and nutrition, coaching/mentorship, strengthen their communities, and protect their ecological livelihoods.

Valores

About the founder:

Miguel Hilario

Miguel Hilario-Manënima

Miguel Hilario-Manënima has a long trajectory of activism and scholarship to defend rights of his people, the forest, and promote sustainable development in Latin America. Miguel studied Political Economy of Latin America at Sonoma State University. He also studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University. Moreover, he obtained two Masters and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Stanford University. He is a former official of Inter-American Development Bank, UNICEF and ex-President of the National Commission of Ethnic Affairs in Peru, and former Director of Public Policy and Cultural Competency in Santa Clara County, California. He is also a former presidential candidate of the Republic of Peru.

Miguel is currently, the Chief of International Relations and professor of Anthropology at National Intercultural University of the amazon, Pucallpa-Peru.

In 2015, Miguel established the Seed of Hope Program under the fiscal sponsorship of Comunidad Cristiana la Semilla, which is officially registered in the National Superintendence of Public Registry of Peru. Seed of Hope Program provides educational access and opportunity to kids ages 3-19 years old from the shanty town of Nueva Pucallpa. The vision is to create new leaders under the vision of creating Green Citizens who will lead the environmentally sustainability and above all protect our Amazon and the planet. This program was running successfully until Covid-19 came to the Amazon region of Ucayali and being managed by Nilda Hilario who is licensed bilingual teacher.

As the Covid-19 hit hard his Shipibo-Konibo indigenous nation, Miguel has become the chief organizer, planner and fundraiser and is currently implementing the strategy to bring humanitarian and medical relief through the Medical Brigade of the Amazon which is under the fiscal sponsorship of Comunidad Cristiana la Semilla (reports of the relief efforts in the amazon attached).

Covid-19 has killed hundreds of elders with traditional ecological knowledge, language, culture, and medicinal plants throughout the whole Amazonia, which requires a holistic response.