Why was there no public accounting for the Arch Cot victims’ funds?
by Barbados Free Press reader “CJ”
I read today in an Advocate article that the Public is urged to contribute generously to fire victims’ fund set up by the “newly-formed High Level Youth Group”. There is no auditor and no plan for public accountability mentioned in the article and it doesn’t take too much guessing to see where we are headed once again.
Pardon my cynicism as I read that the victims’ fund has been set up by a “newly formed” group, but I come by my cynicism honestly as a result of similar “victims’ funds” established in the past when tragedy visited Barbados and other places. People have good intents when these funds are established but somehow when there is half a million dollars or more in the account things always get murky later on about how much went to who, when and how etc.
Lessons learned trying to assist the victims of the Arch Cot Disaster
We’ve been down this “victims’ fund” road many times before and it reminded me of the controversies that followed the Arch Cot funds that were never resolved to the best of my knowledge. The stories about the Arch Cot charity funds faded from the news with no answers that I am aware of. There was lots of enthusiasm at first, but then after the money came in the news stories faded away and with that lowered public interest, any accounting for the money faded away too.
How much of the donated funds are used to pay the expenses of those who set up the charity fund and work at it? How much is used for advertising or hosting a meal for the news media or buying a new $500 piece of software to keep track of the donations? Or maybe a new computer for the same purpose? Don’t laugh. With no rules and no public accountability lots of things happen.
At the time of the Arch Cot tragedy there were some small stories in the papers and online about disputes concerning the amount of money raised for the victims, what it was used for and how the funds for the surviving children don’t exist if they ever did. Those stories are gone from the internet. I can’t find them.
There was the Barbados Media Disaster Relief Fund, a telethon and some other charity funds set up to help the Codrington family. I cannot recall the entire story and there are few if any references I can find on the internet. Where have all the stories about the Arch Cot victims’ charity fund or funds disappeared to?
Can anyone answer the following questions about the Arch Cot charities?
How many Arch Cot charities were there and what are the names and contact information for each charity?
How much was raised and by whom for the Arch Cot victims?
What was the money used for? Where are the statements of account?
Is a public accounting available for inspection online or anywhere?
People have good hearts and they want to help, but with everything that has happened in the past with these “help the victims” charities, donors are right to keep their purse strings tight until they see the mechanisms in place to ensure public accountability.
“The public shouldn’t have to beg for this. Transparency and public accountability should be a given but that is not the way it has been in the past. The latest fire victims’ charity continues the tradition of ignoring public accountability and transparency.”
Unless there’s something I don’t know, it doesn’t appear that this typical lack of transparency and public accountability has changed with the “newly-formed High Level Youth Group” that was first off the starting line to establish a charity fund for the Campus Trendz fire victims.
“I’m willing to help and I want to help, but I shouldn’t have to beg for transparency and accountability in this internet age.”
Unless there are mechanisms in place for me to verify what is being done with the funds, I’d rather send my own cheque to each of the families. At least I’ll know they received my money, and all of it.
Barbados Free Press 
Speaking of questionable charities… You remember an old man with mustache and glasses and usually in shirt-jacs by the Treasury Building who had an old light-green Morris car and he smelled like a bath was rare commodity, he was collecting for some school which burned – for over 15 years?
I am serious from when I was a child to my mid-20’s and he would always shift because I would ask if the school isn’t rebuilt yet?
I usually would wait to do this if he had someone about to
be a suckerdonate money… He would glare at me and the next time I am in the City he is another spot, SMDH!I think ppl deliberately misunderstand when they hear “Charity begins at Home!“
I would not contribute until it was a registered charity. There needs to be a charity commissioner to polive the activities of all charities.
This is an interesting point you all are making here. I remember a relative of mine wanted to donate to the Arch Cot fund some time after the incident, only to be told the account was closed. But up to now no one has disclosed how much money was on the account, whether the funds promised at the telethon were actually paid into it and so on. I hope this “High Level Youth Group” (I have my reservations about that name too) isn’t another opportunistic ‘scam’.
Where there is tragedy there will always be vultures. No one seems to mind too much though, the “professional” charity takers still occupy their usual perches in town.