The Sani Isla community has been struggling to recover from concurrent tragedies over the last couple years. In 2020 there was a catastrophic oil spill on the Rio Napo that caused a lack of potable water, and the end of fishing for food. The people who interacted with the water were exposed to toxic chemicals that made them sick, and are likely to cause long-term health effects. Very soon after, exactly when the community needed income to handle this major crisis, their source of income abruptly ended. The COVID-19 pandemic caused serious illness in the community and eliminated all community income from ecotourism and outside jobs.
And now, it makes us heartsick to share that on January 28th, 2022 a new rupture of the very same pipeline has brought yet more devastation to the health of the people, the river and the forest. For this reason we are raising emergency funds for food, water and medicine. Community members must travel 6-8 hours, round-trip by boat to the nearest city, and purchase whatever they can afford, and bring it back to distribute in the community. As they travel, they are forced to watch the oil slick flow down the river, taking their hope for the future with it.
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