US Red Cross spent 25% of Haiti donations on itself

[Judi Lynn]

US Red Cross spent 25% of Haiti donations on itself

By Staff Writers, teleSUR
Tuesday, Jun 21, 2016

A report released earlier this week by a U.S. Republican Senator has questioned the reliability of the American Red Cross, one of the most respected non-profit institutions in the United States, during its relief works in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

Iowa Senator Charles Grassley conducted a year long investigation resulting in a 300-page document that has revealed the organization had a huge surplus in internal expenses during its relief efforts in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.

At least 25 percent of the US$487.6 million went to management, general expenses and fundraising, as well as program costs and a contingency fund, according to the report. The information contrasts with what the ARC has repeatedly told the public, which is that 91 percent of its funding is used on relief efforts and the rest for internal expenses.

The Red Cross has responded to the allegations with the following statement:

"The American Red Cross strongly disagrees with the findings. We have accounted for every penny spent in Haiti. Chairman Grassley's memo does not note a single finding of fraud or abuse."

More:
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_74375.shtml

[Lunabell]

1. The only time I have ever donated to the red cross

was after this devastating earthquake. I was so moved and hurt by what happened and how there was no help for the poor in that country. Boy, was I duped. You can't trust any "charity" anymore.

[ReRe]

2. Caution!

Consider the source of the document. And please don't stop giving to charities.

[OnyxCollie]

3. Don't blame Grassley.

ProPublica.org: How the Red Cross Raised Half a Billion Dollars for Haiti ­and Built Six Homes
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016124381
https://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-red-cross-raised-half-a-billion-dollars-for-haiti-and-built-6-homes?google_editors_picks=true

-snip-
THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF CAMPECHE sprawls up a steep hillside in Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince. Goats rustle in trash that goes forever uncollected. Children kick a deflated volleyball in a dusty lot below a wall with a hand-painted logo of the American Red Cross.

In late 2011, the Red Cross launched a multimillion-dollar project to transform the desperately poor area, which was hit hard by the earthquake that struck Haiti the year before. The main focus of the project — called LAMIKA, an acronym in Creole for “A Better Life in My Neighborhood” — was building hundreds of permanent homes.

Today, not one home has been built in Campeche. Many residents live in shacks made of rusty sheet metal, without access to drinkable water, electricity or basic sanitation. When it rains, their homes flood and residents bail out mud and water.

The Red Cross received an outpouring of donations after the quake, nearly half a billion dollars.
-snip-

[ReRe]

4. When do you think...

... Grassley's kangaroo court will begin? Because I want to tune in to C-Span and watch. I agree that upon the face of it, it doesn't look good.

IMHO, though, if there's anything wrong with the Red Cross, it's because it's been infiltrated by Corporatists. Just like what they've done to the EPA. And the Dept of Ed. And the the USPS. Etc., etc., etc.

[OnyxCollie]

6. Just like what they've done to the Clinton Foundation.

Tens of thousands still living in tents 5 years after Haiti earthquake
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article6005817.html

“The needs are so immense,” said Odnell David, a Haitian government housing division chief with the Unit for Housing Construction and Public Buildings. “For you to address the housing problem in Haiti, you also have to address all of the other problems in Haiti — employment, investments, education. All have to run parallel.”

Rather than build houses, David said, the government has decided it’s better to create the environment to motivate people to construct their own homes. It’s a philosophy that the government is also pushing with foreign donors, who like the government, have struggled to make good on promises to build tens of thousands of new homes to get Haitians out of the tents.

“A lot of minor interventions are still being done in Port-au-Prince, where you will see that they are still building houses to give to people,” said David, noting that while such ventures are appreciated, they would not build Haiti’s struggling economy.

“What we are saying is you need the government to invest, the people to invest and the private sector to invest to be certain you will have durable development,” he said. “If you don’t have this combination, we will always remain in the same situation.”

New Program Launched to Make Home Mortgages Available to Haitians
http://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/new-program-launched-to-make-home-mortgages-available-to-haitians

MARCH 24, 2011

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund has announced the launch of a $47 million program to make home mortgages more widely available in Haiti.

Jointly sponsored by the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the Haiti Reconstruction Fund, the program will provide home mortgages and home-repair loans to low-income Haitians and small businesses affected by last year's earthquake. The Development Innovations Group will manage the program, pending approval by OPIC's board of directors in June after implementation details are finalized.

The program was approved last week by the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, a group formed in the wake of the January 2010 earthquake to review and approve projects funded by bilateral and multilateral donors, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector. Funded by Haiti Reconstruction Fund ($10 million), the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund ($3 million), and OPIC ($34 million in debt funding), the program is modeled after similar efforts that have proved successful in other parts of the developing world.

"What Haiti needs today are smart investments that will create economic opportunities and lay the groundwork for long-term, sustainable growth," said Clinton Bush Haiti Fund CEO Gary Edson. "By providing funding for programs such as this, we're making it possible for ordinary Haitians to own their own home as well as their own future success and prosperity."

[roody]

5. There are many good charities.

I have not trusted the Red Cross for many years.