Our next order of business was to deliver school supplies to all six schools in the Ayacucho Village area. In a small boat navigating high floodwaters, we visited all six schools to deliver these much-needed school supplies. These school supplies were purchased with funds provided by Jack and Jean Braman. Mr. Hugo Rios, the principal of the Ayacucho Schools, and Mr. Rufina, the Principal of San Juan de Yanayacu schools, were extremely appreciative of the generous donation by the Braman family. Jack and Jean are greatly loved by both the communities of Ayacucho and San Juan. They visited the jungle in February 2025, and their love and friendship continue to be felt there.
We encountered an environmental disaster. Much of the community of Ayacucho was underwater. All the farms had washed away, and the animals succumbed to the drowning waters. Through the generosity of Joanne Tully, Dustin and Barbara delivered by boat to each family in the flooded area of Ayacucho enough food staples to supplement their fish until the floodwaters subsided.
It was an honor for us to spend many days with the high school teachers. We currently have ten teachers teaching at the Ayacucho High School. Due to the flooding waters, these wonderfully dedicated teachers were forced to live in the high school. Dustin and I were heartbroken by the way the teachers of Ayacucho were forced to live. Dustin offered his small Albergue as a living space for the teachers. This small Albergue has provided teachers with rooms to sleep, a kitchen, a living space, bathrooms, and a shower. When we left the jungle in July, we were very relieved that our teachers were now cared for. Our next project is to secure this Albergue permanently as a living space for the Ayacucho teachers.
Throughout the weeks we spent in the jungle, 140 backpacks, uniforms, shoes, and socks were distributed to the children in the villages of San Juan, Ayacucho, and Junín. We are grateful for the continual support we receive from our sponsors. The children know, love, and appreciate their sponsor. They wait for their sponsors’ photos and letters! It is a huge event when a sponsor’s letter is read and shared by the child with all their friends.
With the help of the teachers, each child wrote a thank-you letter for their sponsor and handmade a small bracelet, while Barbara and Dustin took the time to capture the perfect photo of each child. These small gifts will be mailed out this August.
We celebrated the Festival of Saint John the Baptist with the community of San Juan de Yanayacu. Barbara was given the honor of carrying the statue of San Juan throughout the community. There were traditional foods and music for the three-day celebration, which is celebrated annually.
Luis Viena Reategui and his team are currently building the new teacher’s house in San Juan de Yanayacu. Mr. Luis built the high school in Ayacucho and is a trusted member of the NBHF team. The teachers are very appreciative and are looking forward to living in their new house. This project was funded by the Mark and Carol Zemmel Foundation.
The Nevada Building Hope Foundation’s primary mission is education. We consider environmental conservation and animal protection integral to this process. This June, Dustin had community members of Ayacucho build a small enclosure under his Albergue for the twenty river turtles he rescued in May. Just before leaving the jungle, Barbara and Dustin rescued the nearly extinct and endangered Curassow Bird from a family home. The bird was taken to the Grand Amazon Lodge, where lodge owner and biologist Alfredo Dosantes set up a care and rescue plan for the endangered bird. We witnessed Patrizia Marchese (owner of Grand Amazon) hand-feed the scared bird foods natural to her environment. As of July, Barbie the Curassow Bird is thriving as she continues to live at the Grand Amazon Lodge, by her own choice.
We were fortunate to be at the Grand Amazon Lodge during the medical mission sponsored by NOVA. The doctors and medical students spent a week conducting clinics and treating hundreds of people. The doctors were clear that the clean water system in San Juan has significantly improved the health conditions of the people who now have access to clean water. The project was funded by the Mark and Carol Zemmel Foundation in 2024. The owners of Grand Amazon Lodge, Patrizia Marchese, Yair Aizenman, Dani Aizenman, and Alfredo Dosantes, are deeply committed to the local communities surrounding their lodge. It is an honor for the NBHF to be a part of the Grand Amazon family.
And finally, NBHF must help secure the funding for a small medical clinic and an animal rescue center in partnership with Rainforest Awareness Rescue Education Center (RAREC) in San Juan village. It is very challenging for our three communities to access medical care. The only medical post in the area is located across the Amazon River and, at times, inaccessible by a small boat. Common accidents, snake bites, problems with expecting mothers’ labor and delivery, very sick children, and seniors are only a few reasons the clinic is needed. Providing a safe space for injured and endangered animals and birds is a top priority for the community that lives within a regional reserve.
The construction of a clinic and animal rescue center is now a priority for our foundation, which cares deeply for the people living in the villages of San Juan, Ayacucho, and Junín.
Barbara Land, Executive Director Dustin Pinedo Gonzales, Assistant Director
The Nevada Building Hope Foundation The Nevada Building Hope Foundation
