African Corruption (help!)
sourdough
Posts: 579
I just arrived back from Uganda last week where I spent the last two months including a small and desolate town called Tororo on the Kenyan border. I was volunteering for an NGO which I found on the internet looking for volunteers. It had an amazing mandate which ranges from food security, to education, to HIV/AIDS and care for orphans. Furthermore, the organization appealed to me because it is a grassroots NGO conceived, ran and operated by Ugandans for Ugandans. The director who I made contact with holds a Master's degree from an Italian school and seemed committed to the well being of his people.
I loved the trip and met some of the best people I have ever come across. The people I worked with were inspirational and gave me an amazing insight into what the challenges are that face Africans.
Unfortunately, I left with a very bad taste in my mouth. It became abundantly clear early on that the director of the organization (who was also housing me) had a surprisingly luxurious standard of living considering the nature and geographical location of his home. By Tororo standards he has a palace and a car (though extremely humble by western standards) which automatically makes him one of the richest in the city. He also told me of extravagant plans of a "resource centre" which would include big screen tv's, computers, a bigger house and a swimming pool. He claimed that the "resource centre" would serve as an income generating activity which would help the NGO become free of donor dependency. It would be rented out for conferences and training seminars etc. I should mention that the house is located 15km away from any electricity/plumbing etc and is in a remote village that barely has a passable dirt road. The people live in traditional grass huts and most do not have jobs or and make less than $2 a day.
I spent much of my time visiting orphanages, pre-schools and other centres funded by the NGO and was shocked at the amount of neglect. Malnourished and sick children drinking piss poor water and eating one cup of cassava/bean porridge a day. As time went on, some of my friends started whispering to me about money being diverted from these projects towards the "resource centre" and they had been forced to write false reports to their donors who had given money for specific causes but had been squandered and spent on the director's compound.
I called him on it and denials and excuses given to me to explain that I must have misunderstood. His workers are afraid of confronting him as they would lose their jobs (with 90% unemployment and 6-7 kids per family, this is a huge risk).
One friend travelled 5 hours and invested what little money he had to see me in Entebbe before I left, distressed because of the corruption and his orders to file more false reports. He urged me to write to the donors and tell him what is happening to their funds and investigate for themselves while keeping names of the informant confidential. He has since been fired after refusing to write the dishonest report.
My concern is that if I blow the whistle, I may be endangering the livelihoods of my other friends who are still very poor but at least are employed. Furthermore, though many of their projects are vastly underfunded they are still better than the alternative. The NGO does contribute valuable resources to the villages but much is being siphoned away. The problem is that because there are virtually zero opportunities for employment in towns like Tororo, it seems the only way to make money and live at a decent standard of living is to open an NGO and depend on foreign donors.
A strong part of me wants to do what is right and stand up to the corrupt "big man" who is bleeding the NGO, donors and the people it is supposed to serve. The other part of me worries about the fall out and larger repercussions this may have on an already impoverished land.
Sorry for rambling... Any thoughts? Ideas?
I loved the trip and met some of the best people I have ever come across. The people I worked with were inspirational and gave me an amazing insight into what the challenges are that face Africans.
Unfortunately, I left with a very bad taste in my mouth. It became abundantly clear early on that the director of the organization (who was also housing me) had a surprisingly luxurious standard of living considering the nature and geographical location of his home. By Tororo standards he has a palace and a car (though extremely humble by western standards) which automatically makes him one of the richest in the city. He also told me of extravagant plans of a "resource centre" which would include big screen tv's, computers, a bigger house and a swimming pool. He claimed that the "resource centre" would serve as an income generating activity which would help the NGO become free of donor dependency. It would be rented out for conferences and training seminars etc. I should mention that the house is located 15km away from any electricity/plumbing etc and is in a remote village that barely has a passable dirt road. The people live in traditional grass huts and most do not have jobs or and make less than $2 a day.
I spent much of my time visiting orphanages, pre-schools and other centres funded by the NGO and was shocked at the amount of neglect. Malnourished and sick children drinking piss poor water and eating one cup of cassava/bean porridge a day. As time went on, some of my friends started whispering to me about money being diverted from these projects towards the "resource centre" and they had been forced to write false reports to their donors who had given money for specific causes but had been squandered and spent on the director's compound.
I called him on it and denials and excuses given to me to explain that I must have misunderstood. His workers are afraid of confronting him as they would lose their jobs (with 90% unemployment and 6-7 kids per family, this is a huge risk).
One friend travelled 5 hours and invested what little money he had to see me in Entebbe before I left, distressed because of the corruption and his orders to file more false reports. He urged me to write to the donors and tell him what is happening to their funds and investigate for themselves while keeping names of the informant confidential. He has since been fired after refusing to write the dishonest report.
My concern is that if I blow the whistle, I may be endangering the livelihoods of my other friends who are still very poor but at least are employed. Furthermore, though many of their projects are vastly underfunded they are still better than the alternative. The NGO does contribute valuable resources to the villages but much is being siphoned away. The problem is that because there are virtually zero opportunities for employment in towns like Tororo, it seems the only way to make money and live at a decent standard of living is to open an NGO and depend on foreign donors.
A strong part of me wants to do what is right and stand up to the corrupt "big man" who is bleeding the NGO, donors and the people it is supposed to serve. The other part of me worries about the fall out and larger repercussions this may have on an already impoverished land.
Sorry for rambling... Any thoughts? Ideas?
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
Basically I think it goes on all over the world. Different variations of it. People get elected/are put into power. During the beginning they promise to help people. But as time goes by it is apparent to everybody that they’re only serving themselves.
In my opinion
Yes, it would be the right thing to do by telling the donators.
But in the long run, it won’t make a bit of difference.