CIANAH: INDIGENOUS SUPPORT CENTER FOR ORPHANS AND ABANDONED CHILDREN

For a decade, the Takiwasi Center has supported the CIANAH project: Indigenous Support Center for Abandoned and Orphaned Children. This initiative was promoted by José Petsa, an Awajún Indigenous leader, in the native community of Yutupis, Río Santiago District, Condorcanqui Province, Amazonas, Peru.

In the Awajún communities located in this remote area of the Peruvian jungle near the border with Ecuador, a large number of children are abandoned and orphaned from an early age for various reasons, including the loss of a sense of community due to contact with Western culture. The goal of the Indigenous Support Center for Abandoned and Orphaned Children (CIANAH) is to welcome these indigenous children, from the Awajún and Wampis ethnic groups, and support them with basic health services, education, food, and clothing. The project also seeks to foster values of solidarity, responsibility, and justice among the native population in relation to the most disadvantaged children and the community itself, and to promote the expression of the cultural values and traditions of the Awajún and Wampis peoples.

We recognize the value of José’s achievements, that include setting up a small orphanage in the middle of the Amazon jungle for the abandoned children or orphans of his tribe. He himself has been orphaned since he lost his father at the age of 11, and made to himself the personal promise, as an adult, to help children living in a similar situation. Since 2004 he has dedicated himself to this work in which, by his own means, he raises and educates a dozen children. Several of them, after completing high school, moved to the cities of Iquitos, Lima, and Tarapoto to pursue university studies or at higher education institutions, with the goal of returning to their villages to contribute to the development of their communities.

José is a character out of the ordinary, his initiative is unique and very brave, an example for other young natives. Therefore, we are committed to his side. In order to be able to carry out this project, CIANAH receives support from the Takiwasi Center and other friends who, being fascinated by the place and the project, have decided to give their small contribution to this initiative. Over the years, Takiwasi has channeled funds from private individuals and foundations such as Terre de Vie and Fondation Vermont to build the infrastructure of the two-story orphanage with a capacity to house up to 40 children and adolescents.

Education of indigenous youth

Regarding education, Takiwasi regularly awards scholarships to young Indigenous people such as Rubén Medina, from the Uitoto ethnic group, founder of the Curuinsi Indigenous Leaders Association and a specialist in the Environmental Defenders program of the Regional Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the East (ORPIO), who is currently completing his law studies in Iquitos. Drs. Jacques Mabit and Rosa Giove were also responsible for the "Health Training for Trainers" diploma program, held in 2011 in the cities of Iquitos, Pucallpa, and Bagua in collaboration with the representative organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Peruvian Amazon (AIDESEP) and the National University of San Marcos (UNMSM).

Since 2019, the collaboration between Takiwasi, CIANAH, and Fondation Vermont has allowed CIANAH members, and Awajún and Wampis youth from the Yutupis community and surrounding communities in general, to benefit from full scholarships after completing high school to continue their education in Lima, Tarapoto, or Iquitos, thereby entering university or technical institutes to specialize in careers such as nursing, teaching, accounting, law, administration, and fine arts. The young people who have completed their studies returned to their home district to work and share what they have learned with others in a spirit of reciprocity and gratitude for the opportunity.

How to support

In 2025 CIANAH will be home to 20 schoolchildren (16 boys and 4 girls), ranging in age from 12 to 18. Currently, the institution urgently needs support to cover basic expenses for food, clothing, and toiletries.

If you wish to support this project, you can do so with a donation through one of the different methods that you find in this page. Thank you very much for your support!

In addition to donations, CIANAH also welcomes people interested in volunteering. To learn more about this project, the children involved, how to get to Yutupis, and how to support them, please contact José Petsa.

CIANAH: Indigenous Support Center for Abandoned and Orphaned Children
Tel. +51 945175497
E-mail: jyaunpetsa@yahoo.es
Web page: www.cianah.weebly.com
Download the CIANAH’s brochure in pdf