Cape Verde Assistance

Providing Assistance to Cape Verde

Cape Verde Relief Association of Wareham, Inc.
Cape Verdean Assistance Committee (CVAC)

Raymond L. Matthews, Coordinator
122 County Road
Plympton, MA 02367-1412 USA
(617) 585-8567

Dear Friends of Cape Verde,

In September, 1996, as scheduled, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) mission in Cape Verde closed. This has resulted in the loss of significant funding to the Cape Verde Islands. However, there have been many people working diligently to help supplement the much needed assistance. On September 7, 1996, at the 24th Annual Scholarship Awards Banquet of The Cape Verdean American Scholarship Committee, Inc. of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, held in Swansea, MA, Congressman Barney Frank announced that USAID approved a proposal to provide $15.7 million dollars in food aid to Cape Verde over the next 5 years. Congressman Frank, Senator John Kerry and Congressman Jack Reed, along with a bipartisan coalition of Members of Congress, convinced USAID how important it was to preserve this aid.

In August, 1995 a number of Capeverdean Americans had the opportunity to visit Fogo, the Cape Verdean island on which a major volcanic eruption took place in April of that year, and to meet with the Mayor of of the city of Sao Filipe. This group included Joan Gomes, Leah and Phyllis Stroman and Patricia Wrice from Connecticut, and Phillip Gomes and Raymond Matthews from Massachusetts. Members of the group also had the opportunity to visit schools, hospitals and charitable organizations for children on Fogo in order to see, first-hand, some of the dire needs of the people. As a result of the meeting with the Mayor and various other officials of Fogo, a needs assessment was performed and a program for helping to address these needs was developed.

It was agreed that the American representatives would organize a shipping/delivering program to send needed items to Cape Verde--with initial emphasis on Fogo due to the severe living conditions the people of that island have had to endure since the disaster. The program will help to ensure that the items will be delivered to the intended parties and that all shipments will be accounted for in order to minimize loss or misuse.

The needs assessment revealed that, among the items which are able to be shipped, the following are in the greatest need:

Hospital and Health Care

Health Care items - hospital sheets, bandages, bandaids, aspirin/ Tylenol*
*(Note: Prescription medicines and drugs must be packaged in a separate box and clearly marked as such. Inspection of such items is necessary.)

Dental Care items - amalgam, amalgamator, cement (for crowns), endodontics treatment set, pliers, drills, compressor, motor engine, plaster of paris, stone for pouring impressions, oral surgery (complete) set, etc.

[For a complete list of dental care items see the needs assessment provided by the Mayor of Fogo to the Cape Verdean Assistance Committee.]

Schools

School supplies and educational materials; up-to-date, good-quality books; computers; pens and pencils; crayons and drawing paper; blackboards-chalk-erasers; backpacks.

Charitable/Church

Clothing items, such as lightweight (avgerage island temp is 75 degrees) shirts/blouses, slacks/skirts, hats, children's clothing (clean used or new*), shoes and sneakers of all sizes (preferably unused), etc.
*if items are new, please remove all price tags.
Household items - bedding, cooking utensils, canned food, can openers, dry goods, tools; sewing materials, yarn, thread, needles; radios, batteries, 5-gallon plastic containers with covers (for carrying water or storing rice, beans, etc.), trash bags.
Games, Toys and Sporting Equipment - for games and recreation; for playing soccer, basketball, swimming, fishing (including boots), etc.

[ List of Schools, Hospitals, and Churches in Fogo ]

The needs assessment identified many more items needed by Cape Verde which cannot be shipped via this program due to size, such as: supplies of PVC pipe, couplings, joints to assist with extension ofthe water network; equipment to assist with electric light mains, such as an electric generating set of 2,000 KVA, etc,; trucks for transportation of materials, a road roller, a bus (16-seater) for official transportation needs. (If you, or someone you know, is willing to donate this type of heavy equipment, please contact the committee for further specifics on needs and shipping options.)

If you would like to help the people of Cabo Verde with some of the above needs, please see the instructions on the following pages.

For those who are more inclined to send monetary donations, international money orders may be sent to any of the three charitable organizations in Cape Verde listed below. Please indicate that you wish the donation to go to efforts in Fogo, if that is your preference.

1) Caritas Caboverdiana
Praia, Cabo Verde
011-238-61-3887

2) Cruz Vermelha de Cabo Verde (Red Cross)
Rua Unidade Guine Cabo Verde
Praia, Cabo Verde
011-238-61-1621

3) Associacao de Apolo as Criancas Carenciadas
Caixa Postal NO. 59
Sao Filipe, Fogo, Cabo Verde
Attn: Maria Filomena R. Gomes

Your Help is Needed to Defray the Cost of Shipping

Setting up and running this voluntary assistance program takes the time and energy of a number of volunteers. It also requires a certain amount of money to help offset the cost of shipping these items to Cape Verde. Cape Verdean-American Import Export, Inc. is providing significant help to the program. However, this does not cover all shipping expenses. Donations are essential to the success and continuation of this program. In lieu of donations of goods and money directly to Cape Verde and to the charitable institutions above, donations may be made to help pay for the shipping costs. Please make checks payable to Cape Verdean-American Import Export, Inc. (CVAC account) and send to Raymond Matthews at:

Cape Verdean Assistance Committee (CVAC)
c/o Raymond L. Matthews, Coordinator
122 County Road
Plympton, MA 02367-1412 USA
(617) 585-8567

The CVAC will record and acknowledge all donations.

Note: This program would not be possible without the cooperation of the Mayor of Sao Filipe, the Honorable Dr. Eugenio Miranda da Veiga, and the generosity and assistance of Jose and Manuel Medina and the staff of the Cape Verdean-American Import/Export Co. of New Bedford, Massachusetts, which is providing processing, storage and shipment of aid material covered by this program.

The same type of shipping/delivery program is being developed for all of the other islands with the help of the Consulate General of the Republic of Cape Verde, Benjamin P. Monteiro. If you would like to contact the Consulate General regarding these programs, or any other assistance-related matters you have regarding Cape Verde, please feel free to contact him at his office: 607 Boylston Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02116 or call (617) 353-0165.

[ http://www.umassd.edu/specialprograms/caboverde/aidletter.html ]