Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page :)

Run for Survival - Survival International

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

It is heartening to see how climate action has taken off in recent years, with Fridays for Future, the gradual mainstreaming of scoop shops and people reconnecting with nature during lockdown being just some examples of steps in the right direction. And yet, thinking further afield, I can’t help but feel that there isn’t enough widespread appreciation for what indigenous peoples do, and have been doing for countless generations, to protect our natural world. On the contrary, they face human right violations, eviction and racism on a daily basis. Just some of the injustices they face include:

• Seizure of indigenous lands to use as mines for precious metals, oilfields or gas extraction sites without prior and informed consent.
• Creation of national parks or “protected areas” that evict tribes from their homes and strip them of their rights to use their ancestral lands.
• Loss of livelihoods or way to life due to the effects of climate change, which indigenous peoples have done nothing to contribute to.
• Oppression of indigenous cultures by stigmatising their languages, traditions and beliefs in an attempt to force them to conform to the customs of other societies.

I first learnt about these issues through studying languages at uni. It struck me how communities as far apart as the Sawhoyamaxa in the Paraguayan Chaco and the Nenets on the Yamal Penninsula in Siberia faced such similar injustices, and yet I hadn’t been aware of them before. Since graduating and becoming increasingly involved in climate activism I have learnt more about environmental justice and realised just how widespread it is, stemming from far more than just greedy oil companies.

I don’t think you should have to go to university or delve into the depths of climate activism to learn about these issues. I hope that by running in solidarity with indigenous tribes around the world I will raise awareness and inspire people to share what they have learnt with their children, friends and family too.

All money raised for Survival International will help fund investigations, campaigns for indigenous rights and educational initiatives to ensure the issues remain in the media spotlight and shame multinational corporations and organisations profiting from the theft of tribal land. Any penny you can spare will be greatly appreciated! If you’re not in a position to donate money right now then please see below for some easy (free!) tips to join the movement 😊

Please join me in solidarity with indigenous peoples all over the planet as the best guardians of the natural world and as fellow human beings.

“We have the highest respect for this great work in exposing the existence, problems, and needs of the different peoples in the Americas and, above all, for insisting that they survive.”

Ingano Colombia

Easy tips:

• Talk! Share this campaign with your friends and family and tell them what is going on in the world. Enjoy learning about all the interesting cultures that exist.
• Write! Email companies, politicians or governing bodies who are behind the violation of human rights. Survival International will notify you and provide email templates when your influence is particularly important.
• Eat! Check the source of your food. Avoid palm oil and soya sourced from the Amazon in particular, as these contribute to the deforestation of indigenous communities’ ancestral lands.