海角大神

Walking in their shoes: a Venezuelan expat鈥檚 humanitarian feat

Difference Maker

Norman Canaie noticed that some of his students at a public high school in Caracas, Venezuela, came barefoot 鈥� if they came at all. So last year, Mr. Canaie handed out armloads of donated shoes to his pupils most in need. He made sure to save a pair of white Nikes for a student who had dropped out, ashamed of his tattered sneakers.

The new pair brought the student back to class.

鈥淭he children were overwhelmed with the shoes,鈥� says the English teacher in a phone interview. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e always asking me if there are more shoes coming.鈥�

Martha Convers arranged the shoes鈥� 2,000-plus-mile journey from suburban Framingham. Besides working as a real estate agent and Zumba instructor, she has a special side gig: .听

Since moving from Venezuela to the United States in 2004, Ms. Convers has watched her country devolve into political chaos. But she repurposed her despair. She started the volunteer donation campaign in November 2017 and estimates she鈥檚 shipped at least 3,000 pairs of shoes to the country. Recipients include schools, nursing homes, churches, and nonprofits. With food and other necessities scarce, receiving a pair of shoes can seem like a luxury, Ms. Convers says.听

The political upheaval

Venezuela鈥檚 contested president, Nicol谩s Maduro, continues to crack down on international aid. This has heightened a standoff between Mr. Maduro and legislative leader Juan Guaid贸, the self-declared acting head of state. As the relentless political crisis fails to address staggering poverty, inflation, and shortages of vital items like food and medical supplies, grassroots efforts from the diaspora like Ms. Convers鈥� are sprouting up. They help remind Venezuelans they are not forgotten.

鈥淎t this point, I don鈥檛 think this is a political matter,鈥� Ms. Convers says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a humanitarian matter.鈥�

Venezuela boasts the world鈥檚 largest oil reserves. But experts say chronic political corruption and economic mismanagement have choked the country鈥檚 prosperity, as have U.S.-enforced sanctions more recently. Food and medicine are scarce while crime is rampant. When Mr. Canaie, the teacher from Caracas, buys groceries, he camouflages his purchase in a second bag so others aren鈥檛 tempted to steal. Nearly 9 out of 10 Venezuelans live in poverty.

It鈥檚 not uncommon for a pair of sneakers to cost more than Mr. Canaie鈥檚 monthly salary. Inflation has hit 1 million percent in Venezuela鈥檚 free-falling economy.

These turbulent conditions have meant an exodus of 3 million Venezuelans since 2015, the largest in Latin America鈥檚 recent history. For some time the diaspora has sent money and necessities to family members. In 2018 Venezuelans abroad remitted $2 billion, which amounted to 1 percent of the country鈥檚 gross domestic product.听

Even though personal shipments are precarious, sometimes it鈥檚 the best option.

鈥淧eople prefer to send stuff rather than money, because the value of the currency changes on a regular basis,鈥� says Manuel Orozco, director of the migration, remittances, and development program at the nonprofit Inter-American Dialogue in Washington.

Shannon O鈥橬eil, senior fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, expects personal shipments to increase if the political stalemate leaves Mr. Maduro in power. 鈥淎nd they benefit the regime 鈥� helping feed and maintain those that remain and lining the pockets of customs and other officials that let it pass through,鈥� she writes in an email.听

Mr. Maduro has denied that a humanitarian crisis exists. He has also refused international aid, though his stance appears to be shifting after a recent meeting with top Red Cross representatives.听Mr. Maduro tweeted April 9 about Venezuela's readiness "to establish cooperation mechanisms for international assistance and support."

In February, a showdown at the Venezuela-Colombia border over stockpiled U.S. aid descended into violence. (Relief operations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross refused to engage, warning against politicizing aid.) Ms. Convers hopes to direct her next shipment to Venezuelans who routinely cross the border into Colombia for work.

The Monitor spoke with some nonprofits shipping goods into Venezuela that do not mark their boxes as aid.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always this balancing act of still trying to serve more, while still kind of flying under the radar,鈥� says Sean Lawrence, chief operating officer for Giving Children Hope in Buena Park, California.听

Complications with international aid in recent weeks prompted some nonprofits like Giving Children Hope to alter the frequency and routes of their shipments. One of the charity鈥檚 Venezuelan contacts who coordinates the donations faces threats, Mr. Lawrence says.

Watching Venezuela from afar

On a recent afternoon at her Framingham real estate office, Ms. Convers still sports her silver Nikes from a morning Zumba class. She鈥檒l teach another session later 鈥� after a quick wardrobe change and back-to-back meetings.

Her focus narrows to her smartphone screen as she scrolls through videos. Unsettling scenes of Venezuela emerge six days into the country鈥檚 worst blackout. Her thoughts race to family there. The power outage upsets her chance for updates via WhatsApp.

鈥淵ou wonder for them.... It鈥檚 not only me; it鈥檚 my friends. All my friends here are concerned with their families, especially since we cannot communicate,鈥� she says.

Ms. Convers left Venezuela 15 years ago when Mr. Maduro鈥檚 predecessor Hugo Ch谩vez was still in office. She鈥檇 started going to demonstrations as violence crept into her Margarita Island hometown.

鈥� 鈥榃hy are you throwing tear gas to us if we鈥檙e just protesting? We鈥檙e still in a democracy,鈥� 鈥� she confronted a policeman at a 2003 protest. She still recalls the smell and the burn.

On two occasions, she says, thieves put a gun to her 6-year-old daughter鈥檚 head. They demanded cellphones and wallets. Her husband accepted a job offer in the U.S. soon afterward.

Ms. Convers assumed an organizer role within the Massachusetts diaspora in July 2017, when she helped get out the vote for an opposition-led referendum. Her ERA Key Realty Services office let her use the space for ballot casting. The agency continues to support her efforts and houses a shoe collection box.

Mr. Canaie, who knew Ms. Convers from church,聽told her his students weren鈥檛 coming to class because they didn鈥檛 have shoes. She was also aware that scores of Venezuelans made rugged treks to neighboring countries for work. When Ms. Convers made a call for shoe donations, 200 poured in within a month. She has since overseen four shipments of gently used sandals, sneakers, slip-ons, and more in a range of sizes.

She gently deflects the credit.

鈥淚 just think that I am a tool for God to be used on this,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hat can I say 鈥� I have a wonderful team of volunteers.鈥�

The boxes are packed by volunteers in Massachusetts, many of whom still have family affected by the crisis. Volunteer Rita 脕lvarez has offered up space in her garage for shoe storage.

鈥淎 box can be put here, and a box can be put there. Everybody pitches in however we can,鈥� she says.

Some of Shoes for Venezuela鈥檚 fundraising comes from Ms. Convers鈥� Zumbathons, where money collected at the dance sessions is put toward shipments. Her latest Zumbathon, in January, drew a crowd of 200. The haul from the fundraiser launched a shipment of about 1,500 pairs soon after.

Another helper drives the shoes down to Miami. Arranged by a courier service, the boxes are loaded onto a boat headed for a Venezuelan port city.

Ms. Convers admits that starting Shoes for Venezuela brought a steep learning curve.听Sometimes requests for shoes over social media are overwhelming. Given that she鈥檚 operating on a volunteer basis with limited resources, she says there鈥檚 just so much she can do. She plans to register her initiative as a nonprofit.

Ms. Convers loves receiving photos confirming the boxes鈥� final destinations, even if not every destination responds. Regardless of whether the shipments become increasingly uncertain under the current regime, she says she won鈥檛 stop.听

鈥淲e have to believe in God and have faith.鈥�