Sentebale accused of 'failing' orphans

[Stix Chix]

i just realized we should probably have a separate thread for the Sentebale funding articles instead of discussing it in the Motorbike thread. :doh: :blush: 

William and Harry's African charity motorbike trek has been the trip of a lifetime. But when will the orphaned children it's meant to help see a penny?--Daily Mail
Prince Harry's charity 'fails' orphans--The Times
also of interest.....a similiar story was put out by in March.  here is the link to that thread.
Harry angry at Sentebale spending--The Internet Forum


importing a quote from the Part 2 Motorbike trek thread.....

True SC, but I'm still wondering about the accounting numbers and the details of the guy in charge not being in Lesotho, but in SA, plus where he lives, the kids study in a $ school, his salary plus the other details mentioned other then the woman who has an orphanage.

the DM redid their article since it was first posted.  it has more info on Harper Brown now....

Lydia is also critical of Sentebale's director in Lesotho, Harper Brown, who worked as an executive for the NHS for 20 years before leaving with a six-figure pay-off.  According to the Sentebale accounts for the last financial year lodged with Britain's Charity Commission, Mr Brown is on a salary and benefits package of between £90,000 and £100,000. [...] When he moved to Lesotho, Mr Brown was given a new, slate-grey Toyota Landcruiser for his family's use. Among the fleet of vehicles painted with the Sentebale logo are a Nissan X-Trail and two Toyota pick-up trucks, which cost £49,000 to buy and maintain for a year.

^they said the same thing in March....but it was and remains false. <_<  as anyone can read in the old thread posted above Brown is actually being paid £20,000 per annum.  this is the point the Telegraph issued an apology about.  as for the cars they belong to the charity not to Brown specifically.  to top it all off....NONE of these expenses came from donations.  Harry raised much of it himself through polo matches.

the Daily Mail's accusations are baseless.  and i'll bet they know it.  :mad:

[wannable]

but The Times also picked it up, that's not a tabloid.  ANYWAY, I hope everything gets CLEARED. ;)

[Stix Chix]

^a lot of papers picked the story up back in March too.  and only one of them (the Telegraph) bothered to later point out that it was a mistake and offer an apology.  serious papers often pick up tabloid rumors to report on....pointing out that the story originated elsewhere of course. ;) 

but yeah its a developing story and all one sided so far.  i hope Sentebale addresses it soon.  or better yet Harry himself.....

Daily Mail:  "What do you have to say about our allegations?"
Harry: "Stop being such a  :censored: !"  :cursingmad:

:laugh:

[Trudie]

I read the article yesterday and the last paragraph said it all. The delay in getting the funds was due to the request that the person in charge of the orphanage requested the funds be deposited in her personal bank account something the board was not comfortable with.

If I was on the board of Sentable I wouldn't deposit money in a personal bank account either.

[ALEXANDRIABEAUTY]

Amen to that Trudie.  That sounds way, wayyyyyyy to fishy, hehe.

Harry adores those precious children, which brings tears to my eyes when I see pick like Stix's sigggy...uber duper
touching, indeed.   :thumbsup: :windsor1: :hula:  I believe Harry has their best interests at heart, w/o a doubt.

i just realized we should probably have a separate thread for the Sentebale funding articles instead of discussing it in the Motorbike thread. :doh: :blush: 

William and Harry's African charity motorbike trek has been the trip of a lifetime. But when will the orphaned children it's meant to help see a penny?--Daily Mail
Prince Harry's charity 'fails' orphans--The Times
also of interest.....a similiar story was put out by in March.  here is the link to that thread.
Harry angry at Sentebale spending--The Internet Forum


importing a quote from the Part 2 Motorbike trek thread.....the DM redid their article since it was first posted.  it has more info on Harper Brown now....^they said the same thing in March....but it was and remains false. <_<  as anyone can read in the old thread posted above Brown is actually being paid £20,000 per annum.  this is the point the Telegraph issued an apology about.  as for the cars they belong to the charity not to Brown specifically.  to top it all off....NONE of these expenses came from donations.  Harry raised much of it himself through polo matches.

the Daily Mail's accusations are baseless.  and i'll bet they know it.  :mad:

Excellent idea, Stix, I would love for Sentbale to have its own thread...yipeeee, hehe!!! 

[~Alice~]

But it's not true right?? :unsure:

[Lila the Flirt]

Princess Diana would have been proud of her boys.

:rolleyes: First sentence and they've got it all wrong. C'mon DM. :ugh:

But by day, the Princes faced gruelling 100-mile rides which saw them scaling mountain paths and ploughing their Honda bikes through rivers in temperatures of more than 100C.

Seriously? :lmao3:


I do hope they get this sorted out fast. It's always hard to start a charity/foundation. Hence why a lot of work has to be put into it and be in constant touch with the people who run it day to day. Better yet, do it yourself for at least a few months but to Harry this is impossible.

[ALEXANDRIABEAUTY]

HOndas are the best.  Hey, I drive one, hehe.

[Sassybully]

the person in charge of the orphanage requested the funds be deposited in her personal bank account something the board was not comfortable with.

If I was on the board of Sentable I wouldn't deposit money in a personal bank account either.

Then Sentebale should set up an account for the orphanage themselves. The money need to get to the kids.

[wannable]

 :thumbsup:

That's what ONG groups do in third world countries. Its not easy for very small ONG's to move about and open an account, get an accountant, keep the booking, dress/feed, educate etc.   Usually big charity organizations help out the very small ones that are there working directly hands in work 365.

According to the same orphanage repeatedly mentioned,  its pretty far out of reach of "facilities" (registry office, bank, etc.) like in the middle of a dirt no mans land.

[~Alice~]

True!

[ALEXANDRIABEAUTY]

Then Sentebale should set up an account for the orphanage themselves. The money need to get to the kids.

Amen, those kids def need that money, indeed.

[Stix Chix]

Then Sentebale should set up an account for the orphanage themselves. The money need to get to the kids.

i agree.  if they notice a problem isn't getting resolved which in turn is keeping money from being sent, someone from Sentebale should go to the people directly and see what's going on and how they can help.  obviously Harry and his staff cant get that hands on but i dont see why the people who work for Sentebale in Lesotho itself cant.

i think i know how the misunderstanding with where to send the money came about.  Lydia Muso was looking after these kids long before Harry went to Lesotho on his gap year.  from what i remember reading she asked neighbors for help but for the most part she was doing it all on her own....with her own money.  thats probably why she asked for it to be put into her bank account.  not because she was being devious but because this is her charity in the most personal sense.  she probably doesn't separate it from her home because it is her home. 

[ALEXANDRIABEAUTY]

Hopefully, it gets resolved soon.

[drezzle]

I wonder how Sentebale compares to this orphage in Malawi:  Giving hope to orphans of AIDS

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/02/14/dasilva/index.html#cnnSTCText