CATALAO – Santa Claus braved the sticky heat of the Amazon rainforest this weekend, taking two boats to bring gifts to children in a village near the Brazilian city of Manaus.
The visit was arranged by Amigos do Papai Noel, a Brazilian charity that has been taking gifts to children in the Amazon rainforest for the past 26 years.
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“For the children of the rivers, the people of the countryside, nothing new happens,” said Raimunda Ferrera Vieira a community leader in the village of Catalao, which received Santa on Saturday. “This here for us was a gift from God.”
More than 600 children from different villages gathered in Catalao to receive presents from Santa, who dressed in his traditional nightcap, white gloves and red suit, while enduring the stifling jungle heat.
To get to the kids, the Brazilian Santa sailed on a large boat down the Amazon river, then paddled a canoe along a swampy tributary.
Dozens of volunteers formed a line to Santa’s boat to help him unload his holiday cargo of stuffed animals, dolls and soccer balls. And two of the helper even had to carry Santa off his boat to prevent his boots from getting wet, due to the lack of a pier.
According to Amigos do Papa Noel, changes in the weather have complicated gift deliveries.
This year, the water levels of the two largest rivers in the area, the Amazon and the Rio Negro, are still low. So children had to gather in a community where the river was deep enough for Santa’s boat to arrive.
“We knew this would be difficult” said Pedro Carvalho Filho, a computer programmer who manages Amigos do Papai Noel. “Usually on this day we make three deliveries to the riverside communities.”
Still, Santa said all the sweat and toil was worth it.
“Every child in every community always smiles back” said Santa impersonator Jorge Alberto Moreira. “Wherever you go there’s a smile, it’s a great joy.”