To the children of the Amazon, the forest is as much part of their home as the hut they eat and sleep in. They know the forest and are comfortable wandering around, irrespective of snakes, wild animals and poisonous spiders.

This vast world of forest and rivers is home to a diversity of cultures that are derived from two main groups: indigenous Indians descended from tribes who originally inhabited the rainforest and settlers who arrived since the first explorers stumbled upon the seemingly endless wilderness.

A child growing up in the Amazon experiences a very different life to a child growing up in Western society. A boy or girl learns to paddle a dug-out canoe rather than ride a bicycle. A child might have a parrot or a boa for a pet whereas a dog is used by grown-ups to hunt game in the forest. Rice and fish are always present at the meal table. Men work on construction of houses and canoes, tending crops, hunting and fishing, while women take care of children, cooking and household chores.

Traditional ways of life among Amazon people are being gradually lost as indigenous cultures are assimilated into the dominant Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking culture.