IT MUST have been destiny when an Amazonian mother chose the name of her baby.

The mother - a member of a tribe in the remote rainforests of Peru - gave her son the name Manenima, meaning "he who travels", because he was born in a canoe as she was going from one village to another.

The unusual birthplace came about because the tribe had no calendars and women did not know exactly when their babies were due.

The boy, born into the Shipibo-Conibo tribe, spent his childhood like other youngsters in the Amazon rain forest.

He lived in a hut made of palm leaves, learned to fish for piranhas and how to hunt monkeys and armadillos.

His world was one inhabited by demons and spirits. His grandfather's stories described whites as dangerous men who needed the fat of Indians to power machinery.

But at the age of 13 his life changed for ever.

The teenager, who is also known by his formal name of Miguel Hilario, glimpsed a picture of the New York skyline in a copy of National Geographic Magazine discarded by a missionary. "It made me realise there was a whole new world outside," he said. "I decided I would like to see these places with my own eyes."

Miguel's thirst for knowledge took him to Pucallpa, a four-day canoe journey from his own village.

He later moved to the Peruvian capital Lima, where missionaries helped him study at a seminary.

His quest to widen his horizons was never easy - he sometimes survived on leftover restaurant food and studied under outdoor street lighting because he was not allowed to use too much electricity.

But he achieved his dream of winning a scholarship to study religion in Texas - the first member of his tribe ever to study abroad.

"When I was boarding this huge aircraft I was wondering whose body oil we were using," he joked.

"In the tribe we were afraid of spirits and demons. When I went to the airport through a lot of automatic doors, the thing that came to my mind was that demons were working the doors. I thought, 'Maybe they're not that bad if they open doors for me'."

Miguel learned to adapt and married an American, Kim, by whom he has a four-year-old daughter, Vanessa. Last year a new chapter began when he gained an international scholarship to study politics and economics at Mansfield College.

Miguel, who has been told by missionaries that he is 27, said: "It's the dream of anyone in the world to come to Oxford. But for someone from the Amazon rainforest it is a chance in five million.

"Being here is extraordinary and I'm really honoured."

Miguel's home community and its fragile existence are never far from his mind. Tribes such as his face a massive threat from multi-national industries such as logging.

He has already established a Peruvian Amazon Indian Institute, which he founded to help other members of his tribe. And he is determined his studies should be directed towards safeguarding the rights of the Amazonian people. He sees his role as a kind of ambassador, campaigning on their behalf.

"When I go back there they see me as a hero. They're really proud they've got someone whose taking their concerns to the Western world.

"My family know I'm in this world to get a training to help them. When I look back on my life I can see my name has been fulfilled."

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