Mobilization of CONCID Ontario, MELLOHAWK Logistics, and the Brazilian community in Canada to help the victims of the floods in Rio Grande do Sul that occurred in May 2024.

I am writing this final report to inform you about the mobilization efforts of CONCID Ontario, MELLOHAWK Logistics, and the Brazilian community in Canada to help the victims of the floods in Rio Grande do Sul, which occurred in May 2024.

To better explain how our campaign unfolded, I will present it in chronological order below.

1 – Fundraising Campaign: May 8, 2024

Our first action was to start a monetary campaign for the flood victims, as initially, physical donations were not allowed to be sent to Brazil due to customs restrictions. CONCID reached out to CONCID in Winnipeg and Montreal, as well as the BRINCA Association in Ottawa, and together we launched a national fundraising campaign. On May 10, 2024, CONCID Ontario held a happy hour in Toronto to promote the campaign.

We opened an account with “Brasil Remittance” in Toronto in the name of “CONCID.” Deposits were made via Interac transfer directly into the account. The campaign ran from May 10 until July 12, 2024, and a total of CAD $3,410.00, equivalent to R$13,367.20, was donated.

The institution we chose to send the funds to in Brazil was the “SOS RS” account, managed by the state bank of Rio Grande do Sul, Banrisul. The transfer of funds from our account was made on July 19 by Anne Mourão, a member of CONCID Ontario.

Deposit receipt attached below:

2 – Campaign for Winter Clothing, Blankets, Children’s Clothing, and Footwear:

On May 10, 2024, I received information from the Union of Customs Brokers of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, with whom I had been in contact through my logistics connections, that a special regulation had been created for the tax-free importation of donations. I also spoke with the Vice-President of the Union, Mr. Fabio Ciocca, who confirmed that certain items would be automatically cleared by Brazilian customs, while others, such as food and medicine, would be more complex to clear, though possible. CONCID decided to proceed with donations of clothing, blankets, and footwear.

All shipments were to be addressed as follows:

Name: CASA MILITAR /ESTADO DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL/RS GOV GABINETE DO GOVERNADOR

Address in Brazil: Praça Marechal Deodoro, s/n – Porto Alegre / RS, Brasil

Contact / Tel: Fabio Freitas Ciocca / +55 55 99976‑3032

CPF/CNPJ: 87.934.675/0001-96

From May 10 onward, we launched a national campaign to collect winter clothing, blankets, children’s clothing, and shoes. I reached out to associations across Canada, starting with BRINCA in Ottawa, led by Marcia Carvalho, in Montreal, organized by Kika Martinez, Sandra Tedesco, and Melissa Brotto, in Barrie, led by Anne Mourão (a member of CONCID Ontario), in Niagara Falls, coordinated by Michele Vaz (also a member of CONCID Ontario), and friends in various cities around the Greater Toronto Area.

I also connected with two Brazilians, Allissa Moreira and Roberta Belmudes, in Vancouver, who organized local collections and sent the boxes to Toronto to the MELLOHAWK Logistics warehouse.

Through my Instagram and Facebook posts, others in nearby cities joined us and created their own collection and sorting centers. Finally, all donations converged at the MELLOHAWK Logistics warehouse in Toronto, from where the entire shipment was sent to Brazil.

We also had help from Casa do Alentejo (Anelise Flores), a well-established Portuguese community center in Toronto, which assisted significantly with sorting.

The MELLOHAWK Logistics warehouse became the main receiving and sorting center for donations in Toronto. Donations began arriving at the MELLOHAWK Logistics warehouse, and within two days, the entire warehouse was almost filled with clothes and shoes. Seven days of intense work followed, with hundreds of volunteers working in three shifts to sort the clothes and shoes, count the items, and pack them into boxes.

Photos and videos of our sorting center can be found here: 

I began contacting airlines to request freight donations to Brazil so that we could urgently ship children’s winter clothing. I reached out to my contacts at Air Canada Cargo (our primary airline), and after a few days, I received the wonderful news that Air Canada had donated a pallet (PMC) with the capacity to carry 3,500 kilos of donations, along with an extra pallet, the freight for which was donated by MELLOHAWK Logistics. We made one air shipment from Montreal and another from Toronto. These air shipments went to Guarulhos, and from there, we already had transport arranged to Porto Alegre with the help of our local partners in Brazil.

The goal was to send two emergency air shipments and ship the remaining donations by sea, as Air Canada was the only airline that offered assistance. 

Below is a final update on the quantities of donations processed and coordinated by CONCID Ontario, shipped by MELLOHAWK Logistics:

– **Toronto, GTA, Niagara region** (processed at MELLOHAWK Logistics warehouse, with the collaboration of hundreds of volunteers over 7 days): 77 pallets with 1,800 boxes. 

– **Barrie and region** (coordinated by Anne Mourão, member of CONCID Ontario): 10 pallets with 100 boxes. 

– **Ottawa** (coordinated by our partner BRINCA, Marcia Carvalho): 12 pallets with 410 boxes. 

– **Montreal** (coordinated by Kika Martinez, Sandra Tedesco, and Melissa Brotto): 1,330 boxes. 

– **Vancouver** (coordinated by Roberta Belmudes and Allissa Martins): 4 pallets with 70 boxes. 

Total: 3,710 Boxes / 74,100 kilos 

Two Emergency Air Shipments Were Made:

1. Toronto to São Paulo:

MAWB: 014-2280 0083 

74 boxes – 1,630 kg – Air Canada Pallet # PMC 16083R7 

Flight: AC 090 – May 25 – Toronto YYZ – São Paulo GRU 

Arrival in São Paulo: May 26, 2024 

The State Civil Defense authorized the transfer of the cargo to the SOGIPA Club in Porto Alegre, which was serving as a shelter for families and as a donation distribution center coordinated by volunteers. Many people from the 100% volunteer group “Gente do Bem” helped distribute the clothing and shoes directly to those in need.

2. Montreal to São Paulo:

MAWB: 014-2280 0120 

108 boxes – 1,546 kg – Air Canada Pallet # PMC 18856R9 

Flight: AC 096 – May 26 – Montreal YUL – São Paulo GRU 

Arrival in São Paulo: May 27, 2024 

Total air shipments: 182 boxes / 3,176 kg 

The cargo was delivered to the Civil Defense of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, which authorized its transfer to the organization “Malvado Favorito” in Porto Alegre on June 15, 2024.

For the remaining donations, I also contacted the President of Maersk Line (a shipping company), Mr. Mike Meierkort, who accepted my request and offered us promotional freight rates for the shipment of the donations. Maersk donated five 40-foot containers to transport the remaining donations to the Port of Itapoá in Santa Catarina. This was a great achievement, as it allowed us to ship all donations collected from Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and the surrounding region, Barrie, Niagara Falls, and Vancouver.

We shipped five 40-foot HC (high cube) containers from Toronto to the Port of Itapoá, SC. The containers were fully loaded. 

The maritime containers carried a total of: 3,528 boxes / 70,924 kilos 

– Container #1: 692 boxes 

– Container #2: 762 boxes 

– Container #3: 788 boxes 

– Container #4: 501 boxes 

– Container #5: 511 boxes 

Below are the organizations in Rio Grande do Sul that received each shipment and container, along with some arrival photos:

1st Air shipment from Toronto, delivered to: 

ORGANIZAÇÃO SOGIPA – June 5, 2024 

Luciana Platcheck 

Porto Alegre, RS 

Quantity: 74 boxes / children’s clothing and blankets 

Photos and videos:

2nd Air shipment from Montreal, delivered to: 

INSTITUTO SOCIAL MALVADO FAVORITO – June 15, 2024 

Fabíola Silva – President 

Canoas, RS 

Quantity: 108 boxes / children’s clothing and blankets 

Photos and videos:

1st Maritime container delivered to: 

INSITUTO SOCIAL CULTURAL DO RS / CUFA – August 7, 2024 

Contact: Junior Torres – Director 

Esteio, RS – 93.295-472 

Quantity and weight: 692 boxes – 8,530 kg 

Photos and videos:

2nd Maritime container delivered to:

SINDICATO DOS CONTADORES E TÉCNICOS EM CONTABILIDADE DO VALE DO TAQUARI – August 8, 2024 

Contact: Nicole Schneider

Lajeado, RS – 95.913-058

Quantity and weight: 762 caixas

Photos and videos:

3rd Maritime container delivered to:

WORLD VISION BRASIL – August 9, 2024

Contact: Henrique Santos – Director

Canoas – RS

Quantity and weight: 788 caixas

Photos and videos:

4th & 5th Maritime containers delivered to:

Grupo Voluntário Nosso QG Social – August 9, 2024

Contact: Simone Boneberg – President

Eldorado do Sul, RS

Phone: 51-9 9988-0907

Quantity : 511 & 501 caixas

Photos and videos:

Thank you in advance for everyone’s help and support in this task force. It is moving and inspiring to see the support and unity of the Brazilian and Canadian communities in this humanitarian mission.

In particular, I would like to express my eternal gratitude:

• To my colleagues at CONCID Ontario: Maria Célia, Corine Standerski, Thales Ganzella, Carolina Hack, Carolina Pombo, Anne Mourão, Michele Vaz, Cibelle Amaral, Eduardo Oliveira, Elisa Cardoso, Laila Hawrylyshyn, Guilherme Ebbers and Bruno Sibella.
• To the key people who helped us in Brazil, in Porto Alegre, with all the coordination with the Civil Defense, to obtain the necessary authorizations so that the cargo could go from the Civil Defense to the final local institutions. These citizens personally accompanied the arrival and unloading of the trucks:
  • Paulo Orlandi, Trade Commissioner – Canadian Consulate in Porto Alegre
  • Luciana Platckeck – Porto Alegre
  • Aline Pecci – Porto Alegre
  • Kika Martinez, from Rio Grande do Sul, who lives in Montreal, and who put us in direct contact with several of the local institutions.
  • Nayara Muller Feld, a logistics agent in Brazil and assistant to the Union of Customs Brokers of the State of Rio Grande do Sul.
  • Nayara was instrumental in all the shipping instructions.
  • Alini Artioli in Porto Alegre who helped us with the arrival of the first air shipments.
  • To the entire team at MELLOHAWK Logistics in Toronto who made their warehouse available for a week to serve as a sorting center.

And not least, our gratitude also goes to all the people who showed solidarity and participated by donating, receiving the donations, transporting and organizing everything in boxes so that everything arrived in the best possible way for our fellow countrymen in Rio Grande do Sul, who were so badly affected by the floods this year.

Sincerely,
Arnon Melo
President MELLOHAWK Logistics
Elected Member of CONCID Ontario (Brazilian Citizenship Council of Ontario)