Last year, while visiting my parents, I was invited to a small valley in the Brazilian Amazon to help with the first local-language book of animals, with an indigenous people group in the area. My task was to hold illustration workshops so the community of people could illustrate the animals they are familiar with in the area, and then take those illustrations and incorporate them into the larger design of the educational book.

I met the two indigenous teachers I was going to be working with. They are indigenous teachers who were given the “supplies” of notebook, pencil, and eraser for each student. But there was no curriculum, no materials, not even a world map to teach basic geography.

The project was a hard one, made harder by malaria, lack of gasoline, transportation issues, and a labyrinth of bureaucracy. It took many days just to get from one indigenous community to another and an eternity for emergency healthcare to arrive. I have so much respect for people working full time in this area. Nevertheless, the indigenous people I met have proven their hope and incredible reliance on each other to get through tough situations. I admire them more now than I ever have in the past.

Elena Borquist, an MK from the Philippines and Brazil, is a student at Willamette University in Salem, OR.