Barbara Land, Executive Director, NBHF – Dustin Pinedo Gonzales, Executive Director/Peru, NBHF
The journey through the river communities of the Amazon unfolded not as a series of tasks, but as a living story of progress, compassion, and shared responsibility. What began as conversations and hopes has steadily taken form through concrete approvals, urgent acts of care, and a deepening partnership with the people of Ayacucho, San Juan, and Junín Villages. The March 2026 NBHF Team Members included Barbara Land, Executive Director, Dustin PinedoGonzales, Executive Director/Peru, Board Members, Maryan Tooker, and Marcene Rebeck. Also traveling with the team was CJ Walters, a humanitarian and patroness of many NBHF projects.
At the heart of this mission came a major milestone: the long-awaited permissions were finally secured. With official authorization from GERESA (Gerencia Regional de Salud Loreto) in hand, the path is now clear to build a medical post, establish its water system, and purchase an ambulance boat. These approvals mark more than administrative success—they represent a turning point, where long-standing needs will soon be met with tangible solutions.
NBHF team members paid for the transportation for two community members: a pregnant mother who needed urgent care in Iquitos, and a young boy suffering from a severe fishhook injury who was taken to the medical post in Porvenir. These moments served as a stark reminder of why the ambulance boat—now approved—is so essential. It will soon stand as a lifeline along the river.
In San Juan, conversations with local authorities opened the door to something new: the vision of an Animal Rescue Center. In a region where wildlife and domestic animals often suffer without care, plans began to take shape for a center that would provide emergency treatment for injured jungle animals and veterinary services for dogs and cats in the community. The next step will be to turn this vision into a detailed proposal, developed together with local leaders and regional experts. This project will be done in collaboration with Rainforest Awareness Rescue Education Center (RAREC)
Even along the riverbanks and forest paths, compassion found its way into action. A starving dog close to drowning was rescued and taken to live on higher ground. The NBHF dog, Rocky, will be cared for by members of the Ayacucho Village. The NBHF provides dry dog food for the dogs living in the flooded community of Ayacucho Village. Education, too, remained central to our March mission. In Ayacucho, San Juan, and Junín, each child was measured for their uniforms, shoes, and boots. All children living in our three communities are included in the NBHF Sponsor a Child Program. Each child will receive, this upcoming June, a school and PE uniform, shoes, boots, socks, a backpack, and one year of school supplies.
We have enrolled 113 children enrolled in our educational program. In Ayacucho (67 children), San Juan de Yanayacu (41 children) and Junin (5 children). Each year, CJ Walters generously purchases all the boots for the children in all three of our communities.
The principal, Mr. Hugo Rios, of Ayacucho High School received five portable clean water systems, a gift made possible through the generosity of visitors to the Curassow Amazon Lodge.
After a meeting with the principal and all the teachers from six schools, we received a detailed list of all school supplies that are needed for the 2026 school year. In April, $1,500 in school supplies will be distributed across six schools, filling a critical gap left by the absence of school supplies this year. The school supplies were funded by generous donations made by Christ the King Lutheran Church and Jack and Jean Braman.
That story continued in a key meeting focused on the future of Ayacucho High School. Structural concerns had grown too significant to ignore. Together with local authorities, a plan was set in motion. The first phase of repairs—reinforcing concrete pillars and floors—will begin this spring, fully funded by C.J. Walters. Just as important as the repairs themselves was a commitment made by the community: a signed agreement to care for and maintain the school moving forward. A maintenance committee will be formed, ensuring that this place of learning remains strong for generations to come. The high school needs technology. Solar panels, a server, and computers are at the top of the list of our students’ hopes and dreams for their future needs.
The work extended beyond schools into the homes and lives of the most vulnerable. Through the Adopt-a-Senior program, an elderly couple living in fragile conditions was informed that NBHF will build them a new home this May. This home will be built by a generous donation made by CJ Walters. Eight seniors living in our communities received a donation of food and supplies through our senior program. We thank our sponsors for their generosity.
Nearby, teachers in San Juan expressed their gratitude for the house built for them the previous year—a quiet but powerful testament to lasting impact.
Amid these efforts, stories were also being preserved. Maryan Tooker began filming her project, One Story at a Time: Wisdom from the Peruvian Amazon. For one week, NHBF Board members Maryan, Marcene Rebeck, and Flavio Sneyder Apuela Saquiray (Curassow Amazon Lodge Naturalist) sat with five community seniors to document their lives, memories, and wisdom. In a place where so much is passed through generations by voice alone, this work ensures that their stories will endure.
Gratitude runs through every part of this mission. From the guests of Curassow Amazon Lodge to Christ the King Lutheran Church and Jack and Jean Braman, who funded school supplies, to C.J. Walters, whose generosity continues in the Amazon and now supports critical infrastructure— each contribution has become part of a larger story of hope.As the days of this journey came together, the path ahead became clearer. The medical post now moves toward construction, with plans for staffing and supplies underway. The water system will soon enter its technical planning phase. The ambulance boat will be purchased and prepared for deployment. The Animal Rescue Center will take shape on paper before becoming a reality. School supplies will reach children in need, homes will be rebuilt, and leaders will gather again to measure progress.
On Wednesday, March 25, Barbara and Dustin had the honor of meeting with Fr. Raymond Portelli, a dedicated priest and medical doctor in Iquitos City, Peru. We presented our past and future projects to him. He blessed our work and prayed for our success as we take on the medical clinic project. He gave us an honor and said, “May you continue on your path and journey onwards following in the footsteps of Blessed Mother Cabrini.”
In the Amazon, change does not come all at once. It moves like the river—steady, persistent, and shaped by many hands. And yet, in each step forward, there is something unmistakable: hope is no longer distant. It is being built, carried, taught, and lived day by day, community by community.
