Shandia (pronounced ''SHAN-dya'') is a village located in the rainforest of eastern

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

. It is inhabited mostly by indigenous peoples of the

Kichwa Kichwa (, , also Spanish ) is a Quechuan language that includes all Quechua varieties of Ecuador and Colombia ('' Inga''), as well as extensions into Peru. It has an estimated half million speakers. The most widely spoken dialects are Chimbor ...

Nationality.Shandia on MCCH Ecuador website
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Geography

Shandia is some from the city of Tena, the capital of

Napo Province Napo () is a province in Ecuador. Its capital is Tena. The province contains the Napo River. The province is low developed without much industrial presence. The thick rainforest is home to many natives that remain isolated by preference, descenda ...

History

It was used as a

mission station A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...

by missionaries

Jim Elliot Philip James Elliot (October 8, 1927 – January 8, 1956) was an American Christian missionary and one of five people killed during Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador. Early life Elliot was born in Portland ...

and Pete Fleming from 1952 to 1954. Fleming later married and moved to a different station, but the Elliots stayed there until Jim's death in 1956. Jim's wife,

Elisabeth Elliot __NOTOC__ Elisabeth Elliot (née Howard; December 21, 1926 – June 15, 2015) was a Christian author and speaker. Her first husband, Jim Elliot, was killed in 1956 while attempting to make missionary contact with the Auca people (now known as H ...

, continued to work among the

Huaorani The Huaorani, Waorani, or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are an Indigenous people from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador ( Napo, Orellana, and Pastaza Provinces) who have marked differences from other ethnic groups from Ecuador. The alternate ...

for 2 more years. Now it is visited by local missions groups sponsored by the organization Youth World. The teams minister to the village and are currently helping to build a site that will later train pastors. There was a devastating flood in Shandia in 1953 that destroyed many of the houses.

Nature

A small jungle get away can also be found in the village. It is run by the villagers and is used mainly by the occasional hiker who wishes to explore the surrounding jungle.

References

* * {{Operation Auca Populated places in Napo Province