Supporting the people of the Tahuayo River Basin.
Saving the Amazon rainforest by helping its people
The mission of the Angels of the Amazon (AoA) foundation is to provide aid to the indigenous people living in the 14 communities of the Tahuayo River basin. The Tahuayo River is a tributary of the upper Amazon River, about 100 nautical miles south of Iquitos, Peru. In this remote region we are dedicated to providing the communities with basic human needs such as health care, education and economic initiatives. The people of the communities are our collaborators in the protection of the half million hectare (1.1 million acres) mega-biodiverse ACRCTT conservation reserve, home to the greatest diversity of species of monkeys found in any protected park or reserve in the world.
Healthcare
Esperanza Hospital is a medical facility funded by Angels of the Amazon and is the only entity supporting the medical needs of the people of the Tahuayo River basin.
Education
Angels of the Amazon has provided educational support for the villages of the Tahuayo River, concentrating on the four villages of the upper Tahuayo River, where the need is especially acute.
Economics
Angels of the Amazon has provided the local communities of the Tahuayo River with several sustainable economic initiatives. Our principal initiative is the development of the Asociacion Manos Amazonicas, supporting the local women of the villages in creating traditional arts and crafts.
Angels of the Amazon Founder
Dolly Arevalo Beaver, Executive Director
Born and raised in the city of Iquitos. Dolly grew up in a humble family with 7 other siblings; experiencing the struggles that a child can have when the family doesn’t have the means to pay for education or healthcare. As general manager of the Tahuayo lodges for Amazonia Expeditions, Dolly empathized with the struggles of the native Tahuayo women and their desire for their children to have a better life. Beginning with her personal efforts to help the families of the Tahuayo River basin, Dolly eventually founded Angels of the Amazon to provide for their basic rights to health care and education.
Health Care
In 2007, the Angels of the Amazon began improving the simple medical post in Esperanza Village, which was not adequate for the health care needs of the Tahuayo River communities. The medical post was eventually improved to a full clinic with construction of facilities, hiring of staff and supply of medicines and equipment. In 2019 a full renovation and expansion allowed for more improvement of health care and Peru’s Ministry of Health awarded the designation of “Hospital Level 1” for the facilities. In addition to the operation of the hospital Angels of the Amazon has provided support for advanced treatment in hospitals in Iquitos, Lima and the USA, has provided vaccination drives, has provided special facilities for disabled residents as well as many other forms of health care assistance for the communities. Although the clinic was built to service the health care and needs of the people of the Tahuayo River basin, patients in medical need often travel from surrounding communities seeking out quality medical and dental treatment.
Education
Angels of the Amazon has provided educational support for the students of the villages of the Tahuayo River, including the construction of El Chino high school for the students from the villages of the upper Tahuayo River, which did not have access to education beyond the elementary grades. This has transformed lives that were previously subject to a vicious cycle of agrarian poverty. In addition to the support received by the government, AoA provides the Tahuayo students with tutors, books, school supplies, desks, chairs, regular nutritional breakfasts, a playground, financial aid for students in need and scholarships for continuing education in universities and technical schools in Iquitos city.
Economics
Angels of the Amazon has provided the local communities of the Tahuayo River with several sustainable economic initiatives, including hiring former hunters as conservation assistants. Another initiative is the development of the Asociacion Manos Amazonicas, supporting the local women of the villages in creating traditional arts and crafts while still using sustainable and renewable resources such as palm fibers (stocaryum chambira palm) in their work. Since the arts and crafts are woven by the local women, their economic empowerment has helped them find a voice in their communities thus uplifting their self-esteem and self-worth in their villages and in their homes. Their products are offered for sale to tourists and can be purchased from our office in the USA. Other initiatives have included training for conservation work in the reserve.
Artisania Store
The Association of Artisans “Manos Amazonicas” from El Chino, Tahuayo River, Peru was created by AoA and has been assisted by the foundation in many ways, including the construction of a building for their use. This group of exceptional women has used their art of weaving to generate income to support their families, empowering them to have a stronger voice in their community. Their artwork is made from natural materials sustainably harvested from the rainforest.
Through their work, they promote environmental conservation and preserve traditional culture. Before the pandemic, the women sold their goods to the tourists who came to visit Amazonia’s ecolodge on the Tahuayo. During the pandemic, the absence of tourism threatened this important part of their finances. To help support the women, AoA stepped up and bought thousands of dollars of arts and crafts. These beautiful items are now on sale on our online store. If you wish to own some of this great work and support the women of the communities, please look forward to shopping on AoA’s website in the near future!
Angels Newsletter #30
Dear Friends of Angels of the Amazon, We are pleased to communicate about the good progress on projects for the people of the Tahuayo River basin. EducationThe second classroom of the elementary school was completed in September. Our partners from Be The Change...
Angels Newsletter #29
Dear Friends of Angels of the Amazon, I hope you have had a great start to your 2023…time flies! Here at AoA, we ended 2022 with many great accomplishments, life-changing stories, and successful results for our programs. The year ended with the installation of a new...
Donate
Angels of the Amazon was founded in 2007 as an IRS recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. About 99.5% of your donations go directly to programs (0.5% to biannual newsletter production). All Angels staff and board members are volunteers, unpaid and do not receive any compensation or reimbursement for their efforts. Overhead, office and staff expenses are covered by Amazonia Expeditions travel company.
Feel free to reach out:
[email protected]
Phone: 813-471-8810
Dolly Beaver
Angels of the Amazon
10305 Riverburn Dr
Tampa, FL 33647
Check-A-Charity
The Angels of the Amazon is proud to say that nearly 100% of all our donations go directly to funding programs to support the people of the Tahuayo River basin. No donations are used for administrative salaries, administrative overhead, office overhead, or advertising costs. We are fortunate that those expenses are 100% paid for by the ecotourism company Amazonia Expeditions.
Check-A-Charity is a great tool provided by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to search for public records on Charity organizations. Using this tool you can search for “Angels of the Amazon” and click “expand all” to view copies of our yearly donations, spending reports, and other information. You will find that approximately 98% of all our donations go directly to funding our charitable programs. The other 2% goes to newsletter printing and mailing twice a year (1%) and accounting audit and state licenses and fees (1%).
Please let us know if you have additional questions and we’ll be happy to go over and explain the documents with you.
