Helena from Sarayaku

Helena is a 17-year-old student in Finland. Her father is Swedish, and her mother is originally from the Kichwa people of Sarayaku, who live in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon. On a recent trip there, Helena participates in the traditional Uyantza Raymi cultural festival, and meets with Kichwa leaders who ask her to deliver a message to the world — Kawsak Sacha, or ‘Living Forest,’ an innovative concept in conservation, in which the jungle is considered to be a living being. After COVID-19 confines Helena in Puyo — the closest city to Sarayaku — she learns that 80% of her community has been infected with the virus, and that the Bobonaza River has flooded part of her village. She is Helena of Sarayaku, and this is her story.