Missionary who is the ‘real life Indiana Jones’
AMODERN missionary has told pupils about her 35 years caring for river dwellers on the banks of the Amazon.
Irene Rowley gave the talk to children at Greenbank Preparatory School in Cheadle.
Together with her late husband, Joe, Irene emigrated to Brazil with the Unevangelised Fields Mission in 1966 and the dedicated her life to the indigenous people.
Irene told the children about how they won the natives’ trust.
She said: “When we first arrived we were treated with suspicion. They had never seen a white person before and we were so tall, whereas the river dwellers are really quite small.
“In fact when they went into town they walked in a crouch and in a rocking motion because they had spent all their lives on the river in canoes.
“However, they soon got used to us and learned to trust us.”
Teacher Piper Martin added: “The pupils were completely agog. Irene seems such a normal, lovely, older lady like anyone else they might meet but in reality she has had the most amazing life.
“She’s far more like Indiana Jones than Harrison Ford could ever be and really an amazing and wonderful role model.”