Newsletter
for alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
Caracas, 15 January 2018 No. 845 extra
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Friends,
This issue is an extra, as it deals with the Venezuelan food relief.
These communications are from the 23 November to 24 of November 2017
I have not published it before because I was in Colombia and became
bogged down and this week end finally got up to date.
In the next extra issues I shall publish more on the subject with
relevant news.
----------------------------------------------
Fri 24/11/2017, 14:21
amickiew (amickiew@att.net);
It’s all good, I am sorry but a lot of us knew
nothing, unless you were directly involved.
I did say to Jorge that I will try to do what
I can from Canada & Trinidad hopefully.
I am going thru Vene families in Port of Spain
and Vene.
I am willing to go on a boat if I have
to.
Anyhow I would like to hear ideas, we have New
Brunswick Sardines, salt cod, potatoes, blueberries, apples, anything for the
oil industry, right here in Nova Scotia, if say Laz wanted 2nd hand parts or
new for Oil industries in Vene,
I will do my utmost as we can easily ship to
Colombia.
I can buy some stuff and be paid later also
depends on the amount.
I am open to suggestions, we have export loans
here also in Nova Scotia, sorry I may be thinking too big, medicine??
I will be in Trinidad Feb - March If Laz is
coming I will arrange a bedroom for him there, free anytime he comes, right in
the city, don't know about drive yet.
I just have to get to Trinidad, I will know
who going then I will know, what and how much to send.
I had a friend who went with his boat, I would
go if he still going, just to make sure it gets there ha ha, anyhow you guys
now know how I feel.
My sister brother in law in the Navy also, so
lots of things are going it.
Adios we will talk.
Oh yeah, Jorge, I have a US$100 for Laz give
an account to deposit or whatever cheers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: amickiew amickiew@att.net
Sent: November 24, 2017 5:11 PM
Thanks for your prompt and logical response, Joe
It makes a lot of sense.
Will let Ladislao to continue to direct and guide this
bounteous and challenging effort
I fully understand and support it
God bless
George
--------------------------------------------------------------------.
Fri 24/11/2017, 13:49
amickiew@att.net;
Gentlemen,
Thank you. I was fortunate to have the ability to send
a shipment last year with Frank Malaver. The same effort was spent on the
organization, for roughly the same volume of goods.
Sincerely,
Joe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------.
Fri 24/11/2017, 13:31
bermentmcdowald@yahoo.com;
Hello Joe.
I would like to donate US$500 to the effort.
Please advise how I can wire it to the appropriate
account.
Keep up the good work.
Don
------------------------------------ Original message -----------------------------------------
On Fri, 24 Nov 2017 at 9:28, ANTONI MICKIEWICZ
<amickiew@att.net> wrote:
Dear all.....
Below are my thoughts and ideas on this topic.
I am trying to help as best as I can and hoping that what I am trying to
communicate/share is not misconstrued as criticism and/or mistrust. If what I
am trying to do is not helpful to y'all, please let me know and I will
immediately back out of the effort.
Hi Joe and Ladislao,
Thanks Joe, for the detailed sharing in your
note below of what has been going on over the last year.
Great to see that the efforts and process that
you described and used to date have been successful. Guess that my
understanding of the situation in Venezuela for ALL of our brothers there is
not as dire as I had assumed. As I read your note the following questions came
to mind:
How many brothers and their families are we
all helping out in the Eastern region with food versus the 5 mentioned in your
note that are receiving the $50 per month allowance? How are we able to get the
dollar currency to them?
Is there a need to assist others in the
Central and Western regions? If so, approximately how many might need our help?
Is the team also assisting other alumni in
need outside of Venezuela?
How are those who are assisting outside
T&T getting their contributions to you?
Assume that some brothers are being
individually helped by family and friends living outside of Venezuela?
My humble opinion is that if we are going to
expand the effort with potential additional monetary contributions, there is a
need to publicize this successful support to the global old boy community so
that the visibility and potential financial support can be increased to ideally
help all who are in need. From what I am aware, we currently seem to have at
least 5 mechanisms of communication: e-mails, phone/mobile calls, Circulars,
Face Book and Whatsup. Is there a way to create one mechanism to address this
specific topic? Am willing to help.
Hi Ladislao & Jorge
To complement and supplement the successful
efforts that are taking place in the Eastern Venezuela by Trinidad, perhaps in
your upcoming get together you can put forth a strategy and plan of attack to
deal with those in the other regions who are currently not getting help.
Hi Glen, Ladislao, Jorge and Joe
Suggest that you also discuss Glen's plan to
ship food and other necessities to Trinidad so that it can be integrated into
the current approach to be finally distributed in Venezuela.
Perhaps some items can be shipped to Colombia
to be distributed via that route if agreeable to Jorge and Ladislao. Again I am
totally clueless of what it actually means and takes for the receiver and what
they have to go through the process of accepting goods through customs in the
given country and then transporting it internally in the country and externally
to Venezuela.
Dear All
I fully understand that I am currently
personally ignorant of the complexity and the burden of this effort that is
being carried today by Joe and Ladislao plus the other key players. It must be
taking a lot of time and energy to get this done under very challenging
personal circumstances. I also suspect that with the current political,
criminal and general graft environment in Venezuela, there is probably a
personal safety risk to Ladislao and perhaps others in Venezuela involved in
the current effort. Perhaps this personal safety issue also applies to Joe and
the others in Trinidad when handling the money and the goods.
Furthermore, the current complexity will
significantly increase if the addition of assistance via Colombia led by Jorge
and via Canada led by Glen takes place
I am willing to do my part in any distinct and
additive manner that might be needed while recognizing that here in the USA I
am safe and unaware/ignorant of all the challenges, dangers, problems, issues,
pitfalls, etc., that the magnitude of such a complex effort entails to be safe
ad successful...Have read of situations of individuals transporting and
delivering such goods in Venezuela being waylaid by "criminals",
goods and their vehicles stolen, and sometimes those drivers being shot and
killed.
In closing, for what it is worth, personal thoughts
are:
Value of the US & Canadian $ versus the
Colombian Peso, currently around 2750 pesos per $US per Jorge, and the daily
increasing bolivar rate are our most powerful and flexible means of assisting
those in need
Guess that most of these potentially available
moneys that are currently not in play are probably in the pockets of alumni
living in the USA and Canada.
Credibility, communication and trust will be
the biggest challenge to get more moneys while the Venezuelan tragedy
continues.
Finally, suspect that at some point we will
need to get together via a conference call if the current effort is
significantly expanded to resolve any complexities and details which cannot be
effectively addressed via e-mails. Not sure if this will be feasible in Venezuela.
May God bless and keep y'all safe,
George
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Thu, 23 Nov 2017 at 19:59, George Mickiewicz
<amickiew@att.net> wrote:
Thanks, Don.
Had heard something a while back about this
but was unfamiliar with the details. Do not read the whatsapp blogs, as they do
not make sense to me.....guess that one has to be part of it to understand the
thought chain.
Glad to hear that you are leading such a
laudable effort, Joe.. ...thanks a million to you and your team. You must
be applying some novel approaches to avoid the goods from being stolen/
confiscated by government officials which my friends in Venezuela tell me
happens to them all the time. Would be great if you could share your
means of successful shipping and delivery for those of us who lived in
Venezuela and have good friends there....thanks.
With Jorge Iwaszkiewicz living in Colombia and
Ladislao travelling there on business several times a year....it opens another
venue and opportunity to increase our support.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------.
On Nov 23,
2017, at 4:22 PM, Don Mitchell <idmitch@anguillanet.com> wrote:
Hi, George,
There is only one real effort to assist the
old boys in need in Venezuela that I have heard of. That is the one that is now
probably about a year old and that has resulted in what appears (from a reading
of the WhatsApp conversations that Ladislao has been publishing on the Blog) to
have been multiple parcels of food, dry goods and medicines being supplied to
the old boys.
The best way to find out what is happening is
to send a message to Joe Berment-McDowald. He is the President of our
Association and has his fingertips on all the activities for the support of the
old boys. I am copying him.
Keep well.
Don
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: George
Mickiewicz
Sent: Thursday, November 23, 2017 3:16 PM
Subject: Venezuela Assistance to Abbey School Alumni
Dear Brothers,
There are a number of efforts currently
underway to assist old boys and others in their present dire and hopeless
situation in Venezuela. This is to inform you in case you are interested and
able to help. I have been informed and arre aware of 2 specific efforts at this
time. If you can, please get in touch with one of the following with your
offer:
X Jorge Iwaszkiewicz who will be interacting with
Ladislao in Colombia in the next 2 weeks.
X. Glen McCoy who is preparing shipments to Trinidad
to be subsequently delivered to Venezuela sometime in February
Please share this memo with other old boys to
expand the visibility of this effort.
May God bless you,
George Mickiewicz. Class of 1962
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Thursday, November 23, 2017 11:13 PM,
Joseph
Berment-McDowald <bermentmcdowald@yahoo.com> wrote:
Thanks Don,
Hello George and gentlemen all,
Ladislao and I have settled on that it would
be best if we bring order to previous and not necessarily well coordinated
efforts in some instances if I were to make arrangements to assist the Old Boys
in the Eastern Region.
To expedite things and provide the most rapid
relief it was agreed (given some of the same concerns that you have raised and
also the presumption that at least some food items actually cost less in
Venezuela) to put 5 of the brothers on a $50 (US) monthly allowance.
This was decided after we had procured the
foodstuffs that Ladislao had advised plus some sanitation supplies and
toiletries. Nonetheless, I will be sending about 150 kg. of groceries for 5
families.
Despite having settled on a allowance and the
reputed ease with which one can convert U$ into anything that you want, I am
still concerned about how perfectly that matches dietary and nutritional needs,
how available nutritious food really is and how realistic it is to expect some
of the older guys to do their own shopping - - I am not aware of their living
and family circumstances.
Consequently, we will be sending the current
shipment to Venezuela and have no objection to continuing both food and cash
support (with the food being sent quarterly) whilst being ready and available
to assist more Old Boys, as needed.
Although individual acts of generosity and
solidarity are laudable, I am trying to bring cohesion to our efforts in the
hope of making the greatest and most meaningful impact without duplicating
efforts, so that many more can be helped.
Any support which you can provide or influence
which you can exercise with others would be most welcome and I would appreciate
if you would pass this around to your circle of friends and have them contact
me directly.
We will be fully transparent in accounting for
donations at the appropriate time, in a manner which maintains the anonymity of
the eventual recipients and focuses on being regular and predictable, so that
they can plan their lives around our support.
We spent quite a lot of money and effort in
building a low cost resupply system and so far this shipment of food,
toiletries and medications must have cost about $ 700 (US) and about twice that
in shopping around to find the lowest prices and packing in a way that would
increase the survivability of the contents and easy handling. We have been
focused on getting the job done which hasn't left space for detailed
accountability, which will come.
We still have to pay freight and I am waiting
on the finalisation of secure shipping arrangements, and clearance at a
reasonable cost.
Yours Sincerely,
Joe
------------------------------------------
EDITED by
Ladislao Kertesz, kertesz11@yahoo.com,
if you would like to be in the circular’s mailing list or any old boy that you
would like to include.
--------------------------------------------
Photos:
17LK9011FBLCH,
Leonardo Chacin
89LK1285FBPDB,
Peter de la Bastide
17UN0010EDIMSB, The church
16LK2336FBJBA, Jerry Bain
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.