The Turimiquire Foundation–Getting It Done in Northeastern Venezuela
Each Christmas I make a pitch to 2GreenEnergy readers who may find themselves in a philanthropic spirit to consider the Turimiquire Foundation in their holiday giving, as I have personally since the 1990s, when I first met Willie Bloomstein, the manager of the organization’s U.S. “office.” I used quotes there because this is among the leanest non-profit you’ll ever hope to find; 93.5 cents out of every dollar goes directly to the field.
From Willie:
Have you had a chance to look at our most recent Turimiquire Newsletter addressing the current calamity that is Venezuela?
Or read the frontline article we wrote in the December issue of Population Connection? The title says it all – SLOWING THE “REPRODUCTIVE TREADMILL” IN RURAL VENEZUELA: THE TURIMIQUIRE FOUNDATION STORY.
It’s hard to overstate Venezuela’s socio-economic collapse. Infant and maternal morbidity and mortality are climbing, there are almost no contraceptives available in the country, teen pregnancy is soaring, and women lack options to determine their own fertility. There are so many aspects to this tragedy – virtually everyone struggles to make ends meet in the face of the world’s highest (1000%+) inflation, serious (80%+) scarcity of food, medicine and basic consumer goods, and terrifying insecurity. Perhaps worst of all is public health. In our state of Sucre, people are dying from lack of the most basic medications, especially infants and senior citizens seeking attention in public health facilities. Malaria and other insect-borne diseases, along with other infectious diseases, are becoming epidemic. My brother Steven (Foundation President) himself succumbed to Hepatitis A, which spreads from contaminated food or water, and is among the plethora of diseases pandemic in Venezuela right now.
The Turimiquire Foundation has been one of the very few sources of relief for low-income women and their children and families.
Our work has traditionally focused on family planning and education as the proven facilitators to improve rural lives. But it has now taken on an additional humanitarian aspect – rendering emergency assistance to thousands of rural poor who started with nothing and now have even less.
If Venezuela’s rural populations have ever needed your support – it’s NOW more than ever.
As you know, your contribution to the Foundation in any amount goes a very long way. An average of 93 cents on every dollar goes directly into the field; this has been our average performance over the past 15 years! Neither officers nor board members take any compensation whatsoever – everything goes into the program.
Please donate online at http://turimiquire.org/donate-now/!!!
Thank You!!!! We are sincerely grateful for all the help that we receive.
Craig,
The Turimiquire Foundation may be a worthy cause with worthy objectives, but it’s also worthwhile to remember that Venezuela was once a potentially incredibly wealthy society with a cornucopia of economic blessings.
The nation of Venezuela chose to squander that vast wealth and prosperity on aggressive socialist ideology and international posturing.
In 1970 Venezuela had become the richest country in Latin America, today after nearly 20 years of Socialist policies, Venezuela is a ‘failed state’.
This once prosperous nation caught an economic disease called socialism.
Venezuelan women sell hair, sex and breast milk to survive as country crumbles into chaos.The situation in Venezuela is so dire that the country’s women and children are especially vulnerable to human sex trafficking while medical supplies and services are almost impossible to obtain.
Once hugely productive commercial farms are now environmental disasters, ravaged with corruption and absurd “peasant cooperatives” ideology. Venezuela once a major exporter of agricultural produce now relies on imported relief to survive.
Venezuela’s once efficient and advanced infrastructure has effectively collapsed. The nationalized utilities and main telecommunications operators barely function, leaving Venezuela with chronic water and electricity shortages and some of the slowest Internet connection speeds in the world.
Venezuela once produced 480,000 metric tons per month using highly efficient waste natural gas before the government nationalized steel the steel companies in 2008. Today, the industry no longer produces anything of value, while the waste gas is discharged into the atmosphere and contaminates water supplies.
Once major economic employers like aluminum companies, mining firms, hotels, and airlines have all collapsed as a result of socialist policies, including appropriation without compensation.
As inflation became rampant and poverty increased, Venezuela inexplicably doubled down on Socialist policies, hoping to find the cure by a close alliance with Cuba for economic guidance, Russia for weapons, cybersecurity, and expertise in oil production; China for financing and infrastructure; to Belarus for home-building, Iran for car production.
Hyperinflation has reached one million percent per year, pushing 61 percent of Venezuelans to live in extreme poverty, with 89% unable to buy enough food for their families.
More than 3 million (or over 10%) of Venezuelans have fled the country, escaping from an increasingly corrupt, violent, repressive society where drug gangs openly operate and control huge areas of the countryside and even whole neighborhoods. Criminal gangs have now indistinguishable from the institutions of the state.
National government is a cronyist petro-kleptocracy enforced by brutal oppression and reliant on ever increasing corruption, drug trafficking, and embezzlement, along with the cooperation of like minded allies to survive.
Environmental destruction rages unchecked.
For the rest of of the Latin American Community and the US, the problem is one of containment and quarantine from the disease that has ravaged Venezuela.
Perhaps you should ask all those American celebrity leftists, and Bernie Saunders supporters for aid to assist relief efforts. Ask all those advocating “socialist policies” and flirting with economic mayhem by pursuing old,failed ideologies to put their hands in their pockets.
Venezuela is not suffering from a natural disaster, but a self inflicted disaster. Any aid, no matter how humanitarian, only helps and prolongs the current regime.