Source: Banffshire Journal
THE second longest river in the world, the Amazon, is sometimes called 'The River Sea', and one Macduff lady is preparing to sail on the famous stretch of water to help people in need.
Eveline Sutherland (65), of the town's Henry Place, will be making the trip to South America to take part in the Amazon Hope Medical and Dental project.
The project, organised by the Scottish charity Vine Trust, has two boats based on the river, providing basic medical and dental service to communities in the remote Peruvian Amazon region.
Ms Sutherland, a retired dental nurse, will fly to South America in April and work on the 'Amazon Hope 1' and 'Amazon Hope 2' offering basic dentistry to the people of the area.
She said: "The boats are former royal navy diving ships which have been converted and have small operating theatres and living quarters for the staff.
"They provide a medical and dental service to communities that are only accessible by water, as there are no roads.
"The boats were in Macduff harbour a couple of years ago and I thought that was something I would like to do.
"I got in touch with a dentist I used to work with from Montrose, who had been on the trip, and he told me to contact the charity."
Ms Sutherland applied and will now fly out on April 17 to work on the boats for a month, spending her first fortnight on 'Amazon Hope 2' and the second on the 'Amazon Hope 1'.
Her first stop will be the capital city of Peru, Lima, then she will fly to Iquitos, the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest, and from there take a fastboat to the vessels on the river.
The staff on the boats attend to the medical needs of 100,000 people scattered throughout 126 villages in rural Amazonia.
The charity has ambitious plans to increase the number of villages they visit to 250 by the end of next year.
She added: "As well as catering to people in the villages on the river, we will by helping people in need in houses and health centres in Iquitos and helping street children in Lima.
"The dentist I worked with said it was challenging and rewarding at the same time."
Ms Sutherland will fund the trip herself, but has raised £1200 so far, which will go towards purchasing medical equipment and medicine to assist with the project.
The next fund-raiser will be a praise evening on Saturday, January 23, in the Banff Methodist Church, which will have a varied night of entertainment.
"I have had great support from the church and others in the area and also from the Macduff Walking group and would like to thank everybody who has donated," she added.