by Gary Kennedy

Well, as I promised here is part three of VA series. Not much has changed at the VA, Togus; the doors to Veteran Services are still closed/locked, the pool, gym are still off limits to all veterans except paying employees. Veterans are giving up. They now tend to meet in small groups in various places such as the veterans home, once per month and also the canteen at VA on certain days and times. It seems everything is becoming secret. I have been thanked on multiple occasions for the information provided in this column.

I was in communication with a veteran employee this past week and was told that veteran suicide conversations were up. It doesn’t take much outside of norm to aggravate veteran anxiety. Many of those who haven’t served don’t have a clue what some veterans go through. Thank God there are some of us willing to answer the need of those in pain. Unfortunately, many of those in need of help are not reaching out to VA but to other veterans. For some reason many vets feel safer with other vets, especially during these times of inadequacies within the system.

In just two years with the Wuhan Virus the veteran has been alienated from what they consider norm. I have had two veterans this summer who contacted me via a third party to see if I knew why they were not eligible to be seen at VA Togus. They said they were told they make too much money. I basically said, “I don’t care if you make a million dollar per year. If you were injured in the military you qualify for help.” And now they have it. Don’t settle or give up, the common sense answers are available. We are a fraternity and we always come to a brother or sister’s aid, singly or collectively. Don’t let China, Russia, Iran or Ukraine get you down. We will get through this entire fiasco together; even in our declining years.

I promised I would explain VA’s billing procedure as of late and why I believe it’s doomed to failure. I am going to extrapolate from an actual bill to try to show you how I see it. Let’s say you go to hospital X for a procedure which entails anesthesia, MRI, contrast and miscellaneous supplies. This procedure also required a doctor of anesthesia, a regular doctor, perhaps a PAC and a couple of nurses. This as you know, probably already guessed, is a total spinal procedure which requires the use of an MRI machine as well as these professionals for more than four hours. We must not forget that there is also a recovery room involved.

The total was $12,234.69 of which insurance paid $871.00.

Although there appears to be some redundancy and repetition; the bill is accurate according to my phone conversation with Community Care. They will get back to me as they seemed to agree with me; the payment to services is greatly deflated compared to asking fees. This example shows no Medicare as there is none. In some cases other insurance companies will be billed to recoup some of the initial fees.

In the past I was told that the VA was paying between 35 percent and 51 percent of valid billings. This was last year so I decided to check it out. I spoke with a doctor in Portland and I will paraphrase his position on this matter. He said, this is a professional office and as such I must hire professional employees. These employees expect a wage comparable to their abilities and education. VA’s new policies are so limited and restrictive so that I can’t afford to take VA referrals. I don’t pay patients to come here.

When I did the math he was spot on as was his office manager. So what does that tell us? Are we talking quantity verses quality. Some are locked in, as are some colleges, as they request and accept federal money. That is the reason veterans go to University of Maine not Bowdoin. (Example Only) The one Ivy League exception is Maine Maritime Academy which accepts federal funds. I don’t want to mislead you. You can still receive a great education in the University System.

So, I have given you a medical example which evolved into an educational one. The one thing that confuses me is, we have been hiring some fantastic doctors recently in orthopedics, neurology, primary care, etc., yet our halls remain empty and more and more veterans are being farmed out. Work at home has become common practice.

Basically the evolution of billing has evolved from billing of two years ago. We were dealing with service payments of between 35-51 percent. Now we are looking at around 29 percent payment of the doctors/hospital asking fees. How long will the system tolerate these sort of forced fees? In my opinion the dam will break sooner or later, and the price paid will be the veterans. We need honest political interplay not the games that the government is now playing. If you love our veterans than deal with them from your heart. They were there when you needed our shares protected. I hate to say it but the way things are going we might need the veterans of tomorrow, they may be facing this again.

All your comments have been evaluated and appreciated. Please keep your interplay alive. We advocates, both private and at VBA, want to be there for you. God bless and keep you. As long as there is speech and pens your needs will not go in vain.

by Gary Kennedy

As some of you are aware from reading my articles through the past quarter century, I have served throughout the world as a humanitarian both with Rotary International and with the Knights of Rizal. There have been good times and there have been those not so good. In any case great things have been accomplished. We have built and supported schools, libraries as well as medical clinics.

In the beginning of my travel it all seemed impossible but as you begin and eventually finish a project you begin to realize it isn’t as difficult as you told yourself it was. One thing leads to another and then project #2 is completed and so many people of need are happy.

In 1999 I joined the Lewiston/Auburn Rotary Club and almost immediately I was on a committee. Before I knew it I was recommending project and getting involved. I believe that changed my life. We embarked on our 1st international projects and that was the building of a library for the poor in the Philippines. I began raising books and storing them at the college in Auburn.

It took a year to raise 40,000 volumes and lots of money for shipping. During this time our own Jan Goddard, of the China area, was the District Governor for Rotary’s District #7790. Long story short, Jan financed, for the most part of our library project, resulting in a three-story building which eventually employed 22 people and librarians, housed all the books plus a computer room of 80 computers. It is now considered the largest true public library in the Philippines. It services the poor and all are allowed to use the facility. I, with my brother Knights in Silang Cavite, have been tending to the libraries ongoing needs. Dasmariñas Cavite Congressman Pidi Barzaga was also a major contributor to the library project. He is a very progressive leader of this community and supports all its needs. Without him there would be no library, such as the one built.

I wanted to mention here “Alliance for Smiles” and my love for this great organization. A few years ago I actually joined the Alliance for Smiles group in the beautiful hamlet of Santiago in the province of Isabela, Philippines. The group was there for several days and performed 127 cleft lip operations. For the parents of these children this was a blessing, saving their children from a life time of misery. I was very proud to be there with so many loving, caring humanitarians. The transformation is truly a wonderful thing. When you see something in your mailbox with the label, Alliance for Smiles, please read it and if you have a few dollars donate to this cause. It’s a wonderful charity which I know to be true.

Soon I will be returning to Asia to service some of my past projects and perhaps get involved in a few new ones. I will be looking for “School” and “Library” books. Library books for all ages and school books 1-12 grades. English, math, sciences, world history, etc. Also, I discovered a beautiful little church sitting high up in the mountains of Cagayan Province which was built by Korean Humanitarians. My wife and I attended a service one Sunday and discovered they had no Bibles. So, I decided to reach out to you to raise 50 Bibles. This would be a wonderful project for church and young people. Please make this happen for a part of the world which searches for God. I now have a truck so I can pick up things. I am considering clothing this time as some of these people have next to none, especially for the children.

The Silang Knights of Rizal and I have also undertaken the assistance of an orphanage built by a protestant pastor after the death of her husband who was also a pastor. The couple is from Pennsylvania, and on a missionary mission in the Philippines. When he passed away, pastor Ada Jensen decided to remain and started the “Mango House Orphanage”. My family and I along with the Knights of Rizal, which I joined in 2003.

So I guess I have been a part of my community there for 18 years now. We have accomplished much through the years and I hope others will carry the torch until this world becomes a better place for all. Time is growing short, for me being a 100 percent disabled veteran. With the help of my brothers, the Knights of Rizal of Silang, Cavite as well as Rotary, I am still getting the job done. I know others will come along and carry the torch to help all those who need the arm of others. This is how we find change and peace and how we find each other.

God be with you and please lend a hand if you can. Have a safe summer.

Gary Kennedy can be reached at (207) 458-2832.

by Gary Kennedy

Well friends, it is so great to be back home and able to write for you, again.

Before I fill you in on the veterans issues I want to tell you of me and my team’s experiences in Southeast Asia. As you all are aware I, and my group, do humanitarian projects primarily for children in the Philippine Islands. There are thousands of children who don’t have the opportunity to go to school. This situation occurs mostly with those with no money for food, clothing and books. That’s where we come in. We are part of two groups, The Knights of Rizal and Rotary International.

We arrived in Manila on November 19, 2019. The first month and a half we had good weather and were able to accomplish a lot of our planned projects. We had shipped $2,000 in sports equipment, basket balls, soft balls, tennis balls, volley balls and even horse shoes. The plan was to eliminate some of the boredom and to give incentives for the kids to stay in school. They love sports, especially what they see the Americans do on TV. They have a passion for basketball and have some very impressive teams of their own. Other than that they have their national hero, Manny Pacquiao, whom we all know.

The Philippines is a country that is monetarily depressed so sports are a way to gain fame and fortune. They also have held titles such as Miss Philippines, Miss World and Miss Universe. Pacquiao has broken all records in boxing, I believe in two weight closes he is champion of the world more than once. He is an example of a person from humble beginnings to one of the riches men in the Philippines. Because of his great popularity he ran for a congressional seat and won. He is also a very nice person and contributes much to his community and the poor in general. I am proud to say he is recently a past president of the Manila Rotary Club.

Back to the original subject regarding our projects. The first month we traveled to the mountains of the province of Cagayan. This was part of our original plan. If you remember from Manila, the capital of the Philippines; it is a 21-hour journey via my van. The van is very large and two of the back seats needed to be removed to afford room for a thousand pounds of books, sports equipment and medical supplies. Part of our journey there was to keep the children in school. I have found these children are very bright and capable of great things. A very large part of the Philippines G.N.P. is export of its people to other countries such as Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Australia, England, Italy and many other countries. They work there and send their money home. It’s a sad life as they have to be separated from their country and family for years. There are also many stories of abuse of all kinds. For me it is a shameful existence as the Philippines uses them as a large part of their existence. With all the wealth in those islands the people should be rich. They have gold, copper and silver for minerals and great fruits, vegetables and rice; to name only a few. All the banks in the Philippines are owned by the Chinese except two; one is a Philippine bank and the other is privately owned.

There is no reason for hunger, early death, lack of education and medical support. However, such is the case. People die from curable problems and starvation is on the list. The Knights of Rizal and Rotary work very hard to overcome these problems. Some church and other great organizations such as Kiwanis and the Masons have joined what I refer to as the Rizal fight inmitative. The fight for acceptance and equality has been going on for centuries. The fight for Nationalism is under an international existence now as the movement has taken root in many countries. The organizations previously mentioned have become international.

After we finished these projects in the Cagayan Mountains we made our journey to home base which is Silang, Cavite Luzon, Philippines. We no sooner arrived and the inactive volcano named Taal which has layed dormant for many years reared its ugly head and literally blew its top. Thank God we were close to home. I literally had to hold a bottle of water out the driver side window and run the wipers to be able to see anything. Our windshield washer wasn’t working. The ash was like a blinding snow storm. We made it through our security gate, parked and ran into our house there. We were in the ash for three weeks. Then all hell broke loose with the name of Covid-19.

Shortly thereafter we were in a lock down. We were not far from China and many of the Philippines inhabitance are Chinese and some of them travel back and forth over the South China Sea. United airlines abandoned us so we were unable to get a flight home with them even though we had round trip tickets. We were luckier than most as I have been doing these projects for years and had a little influence. My brother’s team was stuck there for a month and we all had to invest in new air tickets with Korean Airlines. We ended up flying to South Korea and, after a long lay over, flew to Detroit and then home. With the grace of God we were able to finish our projects and help feed hundreds of hungry before leaving.

I will give you all the new VA news this week. My phone has been ringing off the wall with veteran calls. Some of our vets are suffering and in pain, and I will do all that I can to answer all of your questions. I am visiting the VA and will be speaking to Senator Collins with your concerns.

by Gary Kennedy

As most of you know my brother and I have been involved in humanitarian projects for the poor in Southeast Asia for many years. We are mostly involved with projects that target the health and welfare of children as they are the future and they need and deserve a healthy start. We here in the USA are in a position to help and we should. That area of the world has been a safe haven for our men and woman in uniform through several wars; also, the Amerasian race is a product of our soldiers. These people are a beautiful and intelligent segment of the population there. Helping them, is a great pleasure for me.

I don’t remember if I mentioned it or not but approximately 16 years ago I was invited to join another humanitarian group with basically the same values that I have regarding the less fortunate. I had friends that were members so I spent a year studying the organization and finally decided that it was a great fit, as I spent so much of my life in Southeast Asia. I continued with my “Rotary” projects but added the new organization for particular projects. My traveling back and forth from USA to Southeast Asia stood in the way of my being promoted within the organization. This in the beginning wasn’t important to me until I noticed some friends that had joined with me were being promoted and even though I was doing many projects; I was hardly known. The organization that I am speaking of is the “Knights of Rizal.” I won’t go into the history of this organization as it is lengthy and can be found on line. Later perhaps I will address the organization in greater detail. For now I will just try to make you curious. If you want to know more, it would be my pleasure to share more with you.

I mentioned a few months ago that me and my group of volunteers spent time in the Cagayan mountains of the Philippines eradicating 400 cases of Scabies, in children under 12 years of age. Our efforts were successful. Someone in the Tanza Cavite, Philippines Knights of Rizal club, made our success known and opened the door for my upward advancement in the group. I have never been one for pomp and ceremony but this ended up giving me a great deal of pleasure.

I was promoted to the rank of commander. I have included a couple pictures so you will understand more clearly, what I am talking about. The Knights are the only legislated group of humanitarians who live under the umbrella of the martyr Dr. Jose Rizal.

Basically his philosophy was all men are created equal and should have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and should not be in subservience to any one other than God. This organization acquired the ability to bring members into the organization through Knighthood. This allowed all new members accepted by the body to be knighted. This would be for a lifetime as long as the individual lived by the Knights of Rizal doctrine; a doctrine that is based in love and charity. Through the years this organization has spread throughout the world including the USA

I bring all this to you because there is a good chance the knights will start a branch of this organization here. I am the one encouraging this to happen. I would be interested in talking to anyone who would have an interest in becoming a knight and sharing humanitarianism here and throughout the world. Before you ask more use your computer and search Dr. Jose Rizal. You will learn what he stood for and how he became a martyr. Non Omnis Moriar ( not all in me will die). God bless.