A Condensed History of The KREW

To understand the history of the KREW you first need to understand the history of Mediserv International Ltd, its sister company, Salubrity Ltd and their parent Company, Capital Ventures Ltd, in terms of their relationship with the friendly society named the Ventures & Investments Programme (VIP).

Capital Ventures Ltd is the Patron of the VIP. Its responsibility is to bring benefits to VIP members who want to enjoy benefits of a kind that are either difficult or impossible to obtain if an individual attempted it acting alone.

The KREW wants to help its members to prevent illness, pain and suffering; and to save their lives!

The National Wellness Lifestyle Management Programme (NWLM) was designed to coach members of the KREW to live a better lives; so that they can be fit, healthy and happy. They are equipped to achieve Success, Wealth, Health & Happiness; they prosper. They learn a better way to live.

Mediserv International Ltd is a subsidiary of Capital Ventures Ltd. Mediserv specializes in managing Medical & Wellness Risks. Mediserv is employed by the VIP to manage its affairs, for the benefit of its members. Mediserv helps its members to live a better life.

It is because the most important need of its members is to enjoy good health, the first initiative of the VIP was to provide members with a comprehensive medical plan. Therefore the Mediserv Medical Plan was created as a project of the VIP.

This programme started in year 1997 as a conventional medical plan, named the Mediserv Medical Plan, under its parent company, Capital Ventures Ltd, in conjunction with a local insurance company.

In mid-1999, Mediserv Medical Plan became a self-insured medical plan when Capital Ventures Ltd assumed full responsibility for managing its risks and benefits. In late 1999, full responsibility for managing the Mediserv Medical Plan was conferred upon Mediserv International Ltd which was registered especially for this purpose.

Since that time the Mediserv Medical Plan has evolved to become the Mediserv Success & Wellness Lifestyle Management Plan. In 2001 coverage was provided for retirees entering the plan after age sixty. Coverage included coverage for pre-existing diabetes, hypertension and enlarge prostate.

The Mediserv Success & Wellness Lifestyle Management Plan currently covers a wide range of valuable lifesaving services that are unavailable anywhere else. Here are the major benefit categories:

1)  Prevention from sickness.

2)  Access to hospitals in medical emergencies, especially without the need to make any down payment upon admittance

3)  Ability to pay for medical care when members need it

4)  Ability to meet the rising cost of healthcare

5)  Lifetime Wellness Lifestyle coaching to help members live a better life; and to prosper!

Mediserv International maintains a network of service providers to ensure satisfactory delivery of its services to its members. The NWLM is managed by sister company Salubrity Ltd. The KREW operates substantially under the administrative infrastructure of the NWLM.

Salubrity Ltd is a Wellness Management and Events Management company that is focused on helping members to get results from their Wellness Lifestyles. This arrangement affords Mediserv International the opportunity to avoid dilution of its energies so that it can better help you to manage your Health and Wellness risks.

The NWLM was launched in October of 2008 after over four years of research and planning. In early 2009 the Preventative Screening programme was started. Also in that year members were introduced to the Capiven Information System (CIS), an internet enabled software that permits members to track and manage their physical activities, diets and weight among other functionalities.

The first Pilot Community of the KREW was launched in April of 2009 in the Aranguez Savannah in Trinidad. Other Pilot Communities quickly followed in successive weeks, in Eddie Hart Ground in Tacarigua, in Palmiste Estate in Philippine, and at Skinner Park in San Fernando.

These Pilot Communities tested the members’ acceptance and the effectiveness of many of the philosophies of the KREW.

In October of 2010 the ezine “Relationship Matters” was introduced to selected members of the KREW for testing. This initiative was also very well received. In October of 2011 the Online Forum was developed implemented to afford members to communicate with each other online.

Many aspects of T&T’s local culture were successfully integrated into the NWLM. These were greatly appreciated.

Members began to build very warm intimate relationships amongst themselves; and with the company’s employees.

Happily, the KREW became a tightly knit self-sustaining Wellness Community functioning virtually on its own for over a year with minimal active supervision from the Company. This was the ultimate test of the concepts behind the KREW; self-sustainability of the community with minimal supervision. It passed the test handsomely!

As part of the cultural mix, T&T Carnival was rebranded as a Wellness Event, while Soca Music was rebranded as Wellness Music; both aspects of T&T culture are very effective in encouraging physical activity!

Carnival is the largest Wellness Event in the world! Soca music should be the music of choice for all physical activities that use music as an accompaniment. Our Soca artiste are the most prolific musicians in the world, they produce a new crop of Soca music annually; no other artiste can achieve this feat!

While regular community walks and the KREW’s specially designed set of callisthenic exercises are the default physical activities of the KREW, the sport of aerobics was used to attract members. Since inception in year 2009, Mediserv sponsors each Pilot Community with free weekly aerobic sessions, using qualified instructors.

Several successful aerobic competitions were held. The KREW’s intention is to reinvigorate sport aerobics and make it a world renowned T&T brand, where Soca music is the music of choice and annual world aerobic competitions are held in Trinidad in the Carnival pre-season.

The KREW is proud to reveal that its very first aerobic competition was managed by the lads of the Youth Training Centre. They were fully responsible for all aspects the execution of the event and ran it without a hitch!

The lads were quite respectful of all KREW members, including the many very attractive young ladies that were in attendance at the auditorium of the Youth Training Centre to cheer their favourite aerobic athlete. This event created a golden opportunity to start a relationship with these lads, where the KREW Community can be used as a platform to offer them a channel for acceptance as productive individuals into the wider society, as they demonstrate that they have reformed themselves and are ready.

The philosophies and culture of the KREW makes this community an ideal proving ground to give these lads the opportunity to make themselves anonymous again in society, as they cleanse themselves of their past undesirable reputations.

When the lads participate in the KREW as Voluntary Functionaries, members of the KREW Community will become credible witnesses, willing to testify positively about these lads’ leadership skills, reformed characters, and their willingness and ability to be reintegrated into society. Such support is greater than any position of employment! Additionally, if society does not provide channels to accept these reformed lads, such careless omission will surely become the eternal shame and peril to all of us ‘respectable’ members of the community.

Which is better; opening our hearts or locking our doors? Surely opening our hearts is more sustainable!

The preceding testimony merely described one concept with which the KREW can positively engage the youth. Relationships are being nurtured with organizations that support the ill and aging such as advocates of Diabetes and Retirees. All groups will integrate and apply their resources to help one another. The KREW is a community who support each other to help you to live a better life.

Other activities that were tested successfully were a product called Active Vacations.

The KREW rebranded the mundane excursion creating a professionally managed Wellness Event that treats you to an opportunity to enjoy a short vacation involving fun, physical activity, great food, educational content, security, safety in an atmosphere that encourages you to develop intimacy with others.

You socialize with fellow KREW members, including their friends and family from the other Pilot Communities. Click on the following link to access a video of the one such Active Vacation that was conducted in Edith Falls, Tucker Valley, Chagaramas.

This Active Vacation was conducted in collaboration with the Chagaramas Development Authority.

In June of 2014 Mediserv reverted to the background in terms of the public profile of the VIP, in preference to the members of the KREW. The members of the KREW will be encouraged to participate more fully in the delivery of their benefits. This concept of Community Committees, with respect to respective Vocations or interests of members, is the administrative infrastructure used to facilitate this transition.

A Gift For You 

Here is a beautiful gift from Gerry & The Pacemakers.

Artiste: Gerry & The Pacemakers

Title: "You'll Never Walk Alone"

Samuel Bernard

Plan Administrator