By Matthew Watherston | Founder, Temple of the Way of Light
Dear friends,
We have just completed our first reopening retreats at the Temple and everyone is absolutely thrilled to be back and to be doing what we love! As we finally bring the campaign to a close, we extend our deepest heartfelt thanks to you for showing up and supporting us during such a challenging time.
In the past year, we received a total of nearly $177,000 from over 2,100 donations. We have now distributed all of the funds to the healers and workers at the Temple, Niwe Rao Xobo, and Shipibo Rao. This campaign has been a liferaft for so many of our local staff and healers who were out of work while the Temple was shut down. Your contributions were invaluable to our team, and to the continuation of our important work with plants in the Shipibo healing tradition in the Amazon.
Thank you, iraku!
For those who have recurring donations set up, please note: GlobalGiving only gives us the option to transfer your donations to a different campaign. As we close this campaign, your recurring donations will now fund a new initiative of the Shipibo-Konibo Association of Onanyabo (Ancestral Healers) ASOMASHK, in partnership with the Chaikuni Institute, the Shipibo Conibo Center, and the Temple of the Way of Light.
The pandemic has heavily impacted Indigenous communities in the Amazon. Many are reeling from the trauma of illness and death, from mental health and psychosocial impacts (mourning, panic, psychosocial anxiety, as well as other mental health problems), and are without adequate and accurate information on health and safety. This is compounded by the systemic neglect of Indigenous communities by the state, which has consistently failed to prioritize the right to health of Indigenous populations. As a result, organic strategies of mutual aid and care are emerging and have become vital.
Since the onset of the pandemic, the Association of Onanyabo ASOMASHK has stepped up its commitment to collective health. With the support of a small grant from the Chaikuni Institute, they developed and carried out a diagnostic and treatment plan, and traveled to reach more than 333 people in 10 Shipibo communities. The methodical collection of diagnostic data from the fieldwork was valuable and unprecedented, and the treatments, which included both Western and Indigenous modalities of care, were massively welcomed.
The project’s success and impact has illuminated an urgent need to further its reach to aid more communities along the Ucayali River. It also presents a profound opportunity for the Shipibo Onanyabo to strengthen their communities through the ancestral healing techniques and wisdom that originates from deep within their own lineage, while simultaneously creating and advocating for ASOMASHK’s broader goals of medical pluralism, spiritual autonomy, and the advocacy of plant medicine.
Your support of the ASOMASHK truly welcome! For more info, visit the campaign page
As we embark on what feels distinctly like a new chapter in the evolution of our work, we are present to the remarkable impact of solidarity and unity. To honor what we've received and learned, we wish not only to maintain this deep presence in times of crisis, but in times of joy and peace as well, and to bring forth and allow this gratitude to unfold as we carry out our work.
With much appreciation,
Your friends at the Temple of the Way of Light, Niwe Rao Xobo, and Shipibo Rao
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By Matthew Watherston | Founder, Temple of the Way of Light
By Matthew Watherston | Founder, Temple of the Way of Light
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