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Saturday, October 10, 2009
JERSEY CITY (AP)

MUSIC TEACHER HELPS CHILDREN
IN AMAZON DOCUMENT THEIR LIVES

In this undated photo provided by Amy Coplan, Children in the village of San Martin de Tipishca climb a tree to enjoy fresh mangos. Jersey City piano teacher Amy Coplan has donated digital cameras to children in a small village in the Peruvian Amazon. The children have produced snapshots of their daily life, like this one, including photos of them playing, swimming, attending school or helping adults in the village prepare food using traditional techniques. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Amy Coplan)

A piano teacher moved by a volunteer trip to Peru is reaching out to children there with a project that helps them document their daily lives through photography.

Amy Coplan donated six digital cameras to children in the remote village of San Martin De Tipishca, in the Amazon region of Peru. The children have produced intimate snapshots of daily life, including photos of them playing, swimming, attending school or helping adults in the village prepare food using traditional techniques.

She says she wants the project, called Ninos de la Amazonia, to raise awareness and enough money to buy needed medicines, school supplies and scholarship money.

Coplan first traveled to the Amazon as a volunteer with an environmental group, but she became more involved after seeing how limited the children's options were.

She's working to raise enough money for a small foundation that will provide educational scholarships for the children to pursue higher education.





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RELATED LINKS

Ninos de la Amazonia (in Spanish)

MY HERO: Chico Mendes gave the ultimate sacrifice to save his beloved Amazon from destruction.

MY HERO: Roxanne Kremer established ISPTR (International Society for the Preservation of the Tropical Rainforest) and PARD (Preservation of the Amazon River Dolphin), and working with the mestizo in Peru, established a pink river dolphin preserve in the Yarapa River.

MY HERO Honors Teachers

MY HERO: Wendy Milette is a teacher that has been involved with creating educational programs that value peace, human rights and environmental responsibility.


 


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Last changed on:10/18/2009