by Matt Sullivan

In 1992, Juan Carlos Antezana and Tania Baltazar Luganes went for a trek along an Incan trail in the Bolivian jungle. They brought a group of children from Communidad Inti Wara Yassi with them, an organization started by Juan Carlos and Tania in 1985 aimed at educating the poor children of La Paz in skills, trades, and arts.

Along the hike, the children saw things from nightmares. Devastated ecosystems, scorched trees, singed animal corpses, a starving caged bird.

They began educating the public about the threats of deforestation and illegal animal trading. They created activities, distributed information and marched, including a funeral march in Santa Cruz for a fallen tree. They marched up to the cemetery gates.

Eventually Tania started the Educational Botanical Garden, which included a rehabilitation program for sick, injured, or abused animals. It wasn’t long, however before the town’s mayor wanted the park out and a commercial center in. Though Tania staged a ten-day caged hunger strike, the demonstration wasn’t enough and CIWY was eventually evicted and almost lost.

Then in 1996, the small jungle town of Villa Tunari needed assistance. It was being overrun with animals – not an uncommon occurrence in Bolivia. There were too many “pets” in hotels and houses. So the mayor made Juan Carlos and Tania an offer to help take care of the problem – 36 hectares of land in Parque Machia. Comunidad Inti Wara Yasi’s animal refuge was finally born.

When the refuge first started, it was home to five monkeys. Eleven years later, Parque Machia in Villa Tunari houses more than 1,000 animals – including terrapins, turtles, pumas, parrots, seven different species of monkey and a jaguar – all of which were illegally poached and once held captive, usually in horrendous conditions.

After the animals come in scared, worn, and often caged, they are fed, cleaned, and given veterinary care. Their moods change from hostile and intimidated to friendly and playful. Though some are will need to be watched and kept on leashes their whole lives, others are completely rehabilitated and released again into the wild. Many make the park their new permanent home.

CIWY’s popularity has grown with its size, expanding now into an international grassroots organization. Everyone at Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi except the veterinarian is a volunteer. They come from across the world in order to help rehabilitate the animals. Dedicating at least two weeks of their time, they work closely with the animals, taking them for walks and feeding and playing with them. Many develop personal relationships with the animals and stay for months.

Bolivian schools take field trips to the park as part of the nationwide ecological awareness program that Communidad Inti Wara Yassi now runs. And thanks to international volunteers, CIWY has branches in North America, England, Switzerland, Israel and Australia.  Read More...