Medical Aid for Venezuela
Donation protected
My name is Tati Delgado Ranalli and I am a Permanent Resident here in Canada but originally from Caracas, Venezuela.
I would like to raise funds to buy medicines and medical supplies to send to Venezuela. This project is by no means sponsored or on behalf of any political party or affiliation. The only motivation is the love I have for my country and the pain and impotence I feel for seeing it crumble to pieces.
The idea is to get as many medical supplies and medicines as possible. People in Venezuela desperately need any help they can get and together we can help them.
To explain “why”, I would like to give you a brief background of my country’s situation:
Since the former president Hugo Chavez took office in Venezuela in 1999, the nation has deteriorated in every aspect: economic, political, social, and cultural. Especially after his death in 2013, and his successor - Nicolás Maduro - taking power over in April 2013, the country has gone from bad to worse.
Venezuela has now the world’s worst inflation. In a note from Bloomberg published on January 22nd, 2016, “Inflation will surge to 720 percent in 2016 from 275 percent last year, according to a note published by the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Director, Alejandro Werner”. There is a currency exchange control since 2003 and the black market has an extreme spread in relation to the official currency value. The legal exchange rate is 1 USD = 10 BsF. The black market as of May 19, 2016 is 1 USD = 1,098.11 (this is subject to constant change, the website the country uses as a benchmark for the black market is https://dolartoday.com/).
The minimum wage was recently increased on May 1st, 2016 to BsF. 15,051.15 and food stamps to BsF. 18,585.00. There are price ceilings for almost every basic good. These price ceilings might make you think the minimum wage would be enough to afford a decent type of living but, on the contrary, it has developed immense shortages in food and medicines. For these goods, there is also a black market which prices increases as constantly as the black market exchange rate increases. To give you a real day-to-day example: One package of 1kg of corn flour has a price ceiling of BsF. 25.00; nonetheless, the average price in the black market for the same package is BsF. 1,200.00.
These price differences are found in every single item you can imagine, including medical supplies: from a simple thermometer and gauze, to insulin and cancer treatment.
My biggest concern right now is the fact hospitals do not guarantee the supplies. Patients have to figure out themselves ways to find them, then take them to the hospital so that they can be treated.
The government’s negligence is actually killing people of curable diseases. People become so desperate, they find a similar component in animal drugs and are using them to compensate the absence of human drugs. Some people, when diagnosed from chronic diseases, have even taken their lives when they find out they won't have access to the treatments they need.
I’ve been searching for over four months for ways to make this project come true. I was lucky to find two organizations who are willing to provide me with medicines and medical supplies. The amount of medicines we can get will depend on the amount of money we can come together with.
The other expense that would need to be covered is the transportation. Again, I would ask you to join the cause and help as many Venezuelans as possible to be able to cover for the costs for the medicines and the shipping of the packages.
I know the situation in Venezuela is hard to understand; it could take me hours and days to explain how hard it is for a person to keep up with a daily routine.
Please if you have any questions with the detail of this project do not hesitate to ask!! I will also be making updates in the GoFundMe page to keep everyone posted!
I attached a video that can help illustrate the situation in Venezuela.
Thank you for time, efforts, donation and especially for spreading the word! !
I would like to raise funds to buy medicines and medical supplies to send to Venezuela. This project is by no means sponsored or on behalf of any political party or affiliation. The only motivation is the love I have for my country and the pain and impotence I feel for seeing it crumble to pieces.
The idea is to get as many medical supplies and medicines as possible. People in Venezuela desperately need any help they can get and together we can help them.
To explain “why”, I would like to give you a brief background of my country’s situation:
Since the former president Hugo Chavez took office in Venezuela in 1999, the nation has deteriorated in every aspect: economic, political, social, and cultural. Especially after his death in 2013, and his successor - Nicolás Maduro - taking power over in April 2013, the country has gone from bad to worse.
Venezuela has now the world’s worst inflation. In a note from Bloomberg published on January 22nd, 2016, “Inflation will surge to 720 percent in 2016 from 275 percent last year, according to a note published by the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Director, Alejandro Werner”. There is a currency exchange control since 2003 and the black market has an extreme spread in relation to the official currency value. The legal exchange rate is 1 USD = 10 BsF. The black market as of May 19, 2016 is 1 USD = 1,098.11 (this is subject to constant change, the website the country uses as a benchmark for the black market is https://dolartoday.com/).
The minimum wage was recently increased on May 1st, 2016 to BsF. 15,051.15 and food stamps to BsF. 18,585.00. There are price ceilings for almost every basic good. These price ceilings might make you think the minimum wage would be enough to afford a decent type of living but, on the contrary, it has developed immense shortages in food and medicines. For these goods, there is also a black market which prices increases as constantly as the black market exchange rate increases. To give you a real day-to-day example: One package of 1kg of corn flour has a price ceiling of BsF. 25.00; nonetheless, the average price in the black market for the same package is BsF. 1,200.00.
These price differences are found in every single item you can imagine, including medical supplies: from a simple thermometer and gauze, to insulin and cancer treatment.
My biggest concern right now is the fact hospitals do not guarantee the supplies. Patients have to figure out themselves ways to find them, then take them to the hospital so that they can be treated.
The government’s negligence is actually killing people of curable diseases. People become so desperate, they find a similar component in animal drugs and are using them to compensate the absence of human drugs. Some people, when diagnosed from chronic diseases, have even taken their lives when they find out they won't have access to the treatments they need.
I’ve been searching for over four months for ways to make this project come true. I was lucky to find two organizations who are willing to provide me with medicines and medical supplies. The amount of medicines we can get will depend on the amount of money we can come together with.
The other expense that would need to be covered is the transportation. Again, I would ask you to join the cause and help as many Venezuelans as possible to be able to cover for the costs for the medicines and the shipping of the packages.
I know the situation in Venezuela is hard to understand; it could take me hours and days to explain how hard it is for a person to keep up with a daily routine.
Please if you have any questions with the detail of this project do not hesitate to ask!! I will also be making updates in the GoFundMe page to keep everyone posted!
I attached a video that can help illustrate the situation in Venezuela.
Thank you for time, efforts, donation and especially for spreading the word! !
Organizer
Tati Delgado Ranalli
Organizer
Mississauga, ON
