I have been supporting Survival International for over 20 years. In fact my first job after school was working for Survival, and I went on many trips to visit tribal peoples including Peru, Guyana and Namibia.

Most recently I have been advising them in their successful campaign against De Beers and the Botswana government in support of the Bushmen who were evicted from their lands in the Kalahari to make way for diamond mining - which has resulted in the Bushmen winning the right to return to their lands.

I am now getting on my sparkly new bike and doing a sponsored bike ride from home in Ampthill, Bedfordshire to Cowley Manor in Gloucestershire on Sunday 19 August 2007 in aid of Survival (just under 100 miles and then I can relax at super spa Cowley Manor!).

It is now over 10 years since I have raised any money for Survival so please dig deep and sponsor me!

You can check on Ghislain’s fundraising progress (and sponsor him!) at his JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/ghislain

A Survival researcher recorded this interview with Kamairu Awá, a young Awá man. He describes an encounter with some uncontacted Awá, whose whereabouts are still unknown. An estimated 60 - 100 Awá still live isolated in the pockets of forest that remain in Maranhao state.

‘We [Kamairu and his brother in law, Mihatya] went into the forest to hunt and fish. Mihatya, who was fishing, was suddenly hit by an arrow. I, Kamairu, was hunting with a dog. I was running after a paca (a large rodent) and it leapt into the stream and we tried to kill it. At the same time that we were trying to kill the paca, we were shot at. When Mihatya was shot by the arrow he shouted and at that same moment I saw the couple. We took off our clothes so we were naked, so we could make contact with them. We shouted at them, but they didn’t hear us as they were running off. We saw a young Indian woman with a new skirt made of tucum (palm fibre). She was very pretty and young.

‘We wanted to talk to them and see whether we could bring them to our village. But they didn’t wait for anything and ran off. We never saw them again. After this we saw traces of them, footsteps along the stream and in the forest as they were hunting, but we never saw them again.’

On Sunday August 5th 2007, Survival supporters Barney and Mike will swim, cycle and run in the London Triathlon, Olympic Distance, to raise money for Survival. Neither of them has competed in a triathlon before, and this video diary will record the highs and lows of training for and taking part in such a challenging event. Visit Barney & Mike’s JustGiving page to support them.

Mike Henson, 23
Sports researcher

Why are you doing the triathlon for Survival?
Survival looks after groups who really don’t have many other people sticking up for them in the world. It seems that, after all the wrongs that have been done to indigenous societies during the past, we still allow such a basic, clear justice to be steamrollered. It makes me really angry.

What are you most looking forward to?
Eating a load of high-calorie food in front of the telly the evening after the event, safe in the knowledge that I have earned it and we have raised a bit of cash of a good cause.

What is your biggest fear?
What lurks deep in the depths of the Thames. And the fact that it might include my lifeless body unless the swimming improves.

What’s the first thing you’ll do when it’s over?
Wander around aimlessly feeling a bit sick I imagine.

Why are you doing the triathlon for Survival?
Survival is a fantastic charity that needs our support. I first heard of Survival through a friend, but following the Bushmen case really cemented my interest. The Bushmen’s legal victory, in which the Botswana Supreme Court ruled that their eviction from ancestral lands by the government was ‘unlawful and unconstitutional’. This victory shows that the work of Survival can have a real and significant impact on tribal people’s lives.

What are you most looking forward to?
Relaxing in an armchair having (hopefully) completed the race, with a legitimate reason to be pampered for the rest of the day. Also it will be cool to be able to say that I’ve swum in the Thames.

What is your biggest fear?
Having said that, the swim is my biggest fear. The idea of dodging rusting shopping trolleys, whilst getting kicked in the face by hundreds of testosterone fuelled triathletes isn’t too appealing, but as long as I don’t cramp up and sink all should be fine…

What’s the first thing you’ll do when it’s over?
Pose for the cameras; I look good in the all-in-one, skin tight lycra tri-suit.