Selfless Love: A Story of the Peruvian Amazon | By: Committee for Children This week’s blog entry is written by Trainer and Technical Assistance Specialist Deb Zulawski. I tell this story in honor of all educators, parents, and caregivers who love children selflessly. I lived in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon for two years. One project I coordinated during that time was chocolatadas for over 3,000 children from various jungle communities. A chocolatada is a traditional holiday celebration that consists of a hot chocolate drink and a slice of sweet bread. On this particular day, a number of jungle communities were joining together at one central village on the Amazon, near the source. A few volunteers and I spent over four hours in a speed boat, in a torrential downpour, to arrive at the village. We were greeted by over 500 children and their parents, who anxiously awaited our arrival. No one actually believed we were coming, because of promises broken by others in the past. But despite their unspoken doubts, everyone was freshly groomed, and the one change of clothes the children had was freshly laundered. Celebratory cheers rang out as our boat pulled toward the shore. The rain stopped, the sun broke through, and the air was filled with celebration, song, and dance throughout the afternoon. As the chocolatada ended, twilight cast shadows over the Amazon. We were packing up for departure, when a woman with three very young daughters in tow walked up. They were wet from head to toe and covered with mud. I told her the celebration had ended and asked what had happened. I will never forget her response. She told me that the rains had flooded the jungle and the path was impassable. She, along with others from her village, had started out just after sunrise that morning. The others had given up. She had not. Instead, she put the first daughter on her back and swam through the flooded jungle, returning to get the second, finally the third, and then they walked for several hours more through the mud on the jungle floor. She looked at her children, then back at me, and asked, “Is there anything left for my children?” As the darkness of the night fell upon the jungle, I must admit I cried as those three young girls sat by the shore and quietly had their chocolatada celebration. The mother and I hugged and the girls turned to smile. It was a good day made better, all because of this mother’s love. Keep an eye out for next week’s blog, which will come to us from the executive director of Art with Heart, creators of the Chill & Spill journal.