Comando Matico

Team fundraiser

Kitty Sheridan and 3 others are organizing this fundraiser.

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Meet the Comando Matico!

We are a group of Anthropology and Archaeology students at Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA) who are trying to support local efforts to provide health services in the Peruvian Amazon. The Comando Matico (an Indigenous organization) has taken the initiative to provide traditional remedies for free to ailing Indigenous communities in the Amazon during the COVID-19 crisis. The group consists of members of the Shipibo-Konibo Indigenous peoples who have volunteered their time and skills to provide relief to their fellow community members. The organization's name derives from the name of a local plant, called Matico, which can be used to treat a variety of ailments. While it is by no means a cure, it helps greatly in treating the individual symptoms of COVID-19, particularly those that affect the lungs and other parts of the respiratory system. The Matico plant is boiled with other medicinal plants and the resulting steam is inhaled. Thus far, ofll the patients cared for by the Comando Matico, only one person has succumbed to the virus. Despite the success of their initiative, the Peruvian government has provided little to no monetary aid to these groups or any other Amazonian Indigenous populations of Peru. This group's work is an ongoing effort, and is likely to continue even after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. Any amount of money is greatly appreciated, and will be go a long way to help those who need it most.