By Kelly Brantner | CEO
In this update we wish to place the spotlight on an important podcast as well as lifesaving antivenom.
To begin, the Javari Project's co-founder Mr. Tadzio McGregor Schneider was featured in early March on a Fast Company's World Changing Ideas podcast where he discussed the urgent need to disrupt the current narratives around conservation.
Tadzio shared with listeners that the Javari Project is not an indigenous organisation but are instead allies to the cause of the Javari and that their role is to listen to the community and its' needs. He also discussed that when involved in a region as geographically large as the Vale do Javari, it requires a coalition of like-mined organisations and individuals as well as working with local authorities. Throughout the podcast, he shared the biggest challenges, lessons learned, and the importance of storytelling to connect all of us with what is happening in the Amazon. Also featured on the podcast was Ms. Jamila Bargach, Executive Director of Foundation Dar Si Hmad, who highlighted their work to address access to water through a fog collection process.
A special thank you to Fast Company and Ms. Amelia Martyn-Hemphill for placing a spotlight on the Javari Valley. The podcast is available on Apple and Spotify and we're providing the links which are located at the very bottom of this report.
As mentioned in the podcast, a coalition of like-minded organisations and individuals is necessary and we’re pleased to place a spotlight on the Javari Project’s coalition partners including Tesselo, Amazon Conservation, The Cultural Sanctuaries Foundation, Sensing Clues, United for a Living Amazon, and Health in Harmony.
In our last report we touched on the antivenom and solar powered cold storage units for the region and since then we've had a few questions, which we wanted to touch on further in this update. Antivenoms are the only specific treatment for reversing the bites of Bothrops, Lachesis and Crotalus snakes, the most common types of snakebites in Brazil that require immediate antivenom administration. Liquid antivenom is an unstable medication because it requires constant, and adequate, cold chain delivery and storage at 4 Celsius. Freeze-drying improves antivenom stability and many studies also indicate it doesn't degrade as quickly and can be stored for up to 5 years in proper cool conditions, making solar powered cold storage units a critical element in the antivenom program.
Unfortunately, antivenom is very expensive, and a single 10ml vial costs approximately USD $125 and most victims require 6-15 vials, depending on the species and severity of a bite. The cost of antivenom is highly prohibitive for the Indigenous Peoples and yet critical for their communities, which is why our project page includes antivenom as a donation give level and why we'll keep you updated on this important component in the Javari Project's health pillar.
We want to thank our community for not only their ongoing support but helping us to raise awareness to the Vale do Javari region of the Amazon and the incredible Indigenous Peoples that call it home.
We're very grateful and thank you again!
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
