I don't know much about trying to run a non-profit organization, but from what i do know, communication is key. And that means communication between all parties involved. From the president, to the board, the donors, the partners, the workers, and the volunteers. I think this is especially key when you are in a third world country, like Haiti.
The lack of communication that World Wide Village has between every person involved is lacking.
I realize that working in Haiti you must expect the unexpected and have patience because everything isn't going to go according to plans. However, when it comes to promising things to others, whether in the states or in Haiti, you HAVE to follow through.
You can't promise to provide food to an orphanage and not make sure they have coal or propane to cook that food.
You can't run a mobile medical clinic without sending enough money to provide basic medications for the patients.
You can't leave the volunteers working on the ground out of the loop of basic information and decisions.
You can't run an adequate organization if you're the only one allowed to make the final decisions and you aren't living the daily Haitian life. You're not working alongside the Haitians and talking with them daily, and figuring out how to properly serve them, but you say you're the one who gets the final say. That's not right.
You run your organization horribly. You need to wake up and smell the make-up mister. When you've had a 100% turnover rate in your American staff (both in the states and Haiti) then something isn't working. If your Haitian staff is worried to step up and say how they feel because they're worried you'll send them out the front gate, something isn't right. When you try to stretch 8 interns way to far and they all question your motives, you're doing something wrong. And when 6 out of the 8 interns spend the extra money to change their flight to go home early because of varies frustrations, something isn't working. When you are running a 2.5 million dollar organization but you lose your warehouse with everything in it because you didn't pay the rent, something is wrong. When the landlord of one of your houses is furious with you because you're not paying him rent either, something is wrong. When you claim to be helping an orphanage yet one of the kids is suffering from double pneumonia without being noticed or treated, something is wrong.
This summer internship has been less than ideal. It has made me so furious at times that I turned into a version of myself that I hate. I'm honestly sick to my stomach when I think about what this organization is doing, or actually not doing. I feel as though I'm not helping find a solution, but causing a bigger problem. I worry about the well-being of the kids in the orphanages I've come into contact with. After the interns are gone, who's going to be there to fight and make sure they get adequate nutrition? Who's going to be doing well check-ups on the kids to make sure everything is going good and that the kids are healthy? The answer is NO ONE which has caused me to be numb and I have guarded my heart from fully investing into the kids lives.
The thing that bothers me the most personally is I'm questioning where God is in all of this. This is my third time in Haiti and I've always left in a better spiritual place than when I arrived; however, this summer has put me into a darker hole then I've ever been before.
World Wide Village is a corrupt organization ran more like a dictatorship than anything else. They have been on the ground in Haiti since 2001 and from what I've witnessed, very little has been done to help the Haitians. WWV tries to get involved with numerous projects but pushes the volunteers and the finances way to thin where nothing gets adequately done. It's like WWV wants the attention for 'ALL' they're doing so they can increase their donors, but they sensor what they allow the public to know. Don't let their website or the special on Bill and Giuliana Rancic fool you ... World Wide Village is causing more problems than solving the solutions.
A piece of my heart will always be in Haiti and I'll be back, probably to live long term once I get my RN, but NEVER again with World Wide Village.
Wow.... can you contact me??? On FB Lori Jo Wethington-Davis..... Would love to talk!! Pa janm pedi espwa... Never lose hope!!!
ReplyDeleteI sent you a facebook message :)
DeleteYou've made a difference in the short amount of time in Haiti. Those children will always remember you.Your feelings are justified. I know that it can be frustrating but at the same time don't give up on God. He has a better plan. We may not see it at times but he does. I'm Haitian American living in NY just got back from a brief visit. It's deplorable but not hopeless. We need more people with your kinda heart. Keep those children in your prayers. Also don't condemn World Wide Vision they didn't start the problem condemn the Haitian government for not acting on behalf of it's citizens. May the Lord be with you.
ReplyDeleteI really hope that I have indeed made somewhat of a difference. I know that God does have a plan in all of this craziness, it's just sometimes very difficult to see. I know that WWV didn't start the problem, but they aren't doing a whole lot to fix the problem either. That's one of the biggest problems with some NGOs. They claim to be going so much, when in reality they really aren't doing a whole lot. Thanks for the encouragement!
DeleteSamantha,
DeleteI am glad you brought world wide village into the spotlight. I volunteered on a mission trip with them and was so disillusioned that I vowed never to give to a charity again. If I want to contribute it will be directly to the person. I felt that they wanted to show us the country and be on vacation. I was ready to help the people, I did spend my money to entertain myself. Going to a resort, out to the fancy restaurants and having the best prepared meals at the fancy house was not what I had signed up for. Then we were told not to give anything to the Haitians, well that didn't work. We gave them our extra Haitian money and the clothes that we didn't want to return with to the US. I guess we broke the rules. I agree that Randy does not like anyone to talk back or disagree with his methods. It is his way or no way. This organization is a joke. I think most of us just leave and don't think to call them out on anything, so I am glad you took the time to do it. If I hadn't heard from a Dr. who spent time in Haiti and what had happened to the WWV, I would never have found this site or seen that they were be investigated. I would never recommend anyone signing up with them and I tell this story many times to anyone who wants to know about my trip to Haiti.
thank you so much for sharing!! i know your comment is anonymous, and that's fine, but if you wouldn't mind talking with me further about your experience, would you email me please at samantha.gross1213@gmail.com ... i sweat everything you can can be left anonymous, i'd just like to talk with you a little more!! thanks
DeleteCan I talk to you about this on facebook? my names Hillary Yarger
ReplyDeletejust sent you a facebook message! :)
Deletethey are not the only ones......fabienne
ReplyDeleteOh I know, which is what frustrates me. I've worked with an awesomely ran NGO and now a not so awesome one.
Deletehttp://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/2013/11/not-to-speak-is-to-speak-not-to-act-is.html
ReplyDeleteThanks Samantha for speaking up. I get how hard it is to do ... Mortensen is great at discrediting people but there are literally dozens and dozens of people that have similar stories of missing money and broken promises and if more people keep talking eventually it will be hard for him to manipulate his way out of being accountable.
Mortensen is definitely a deceitful man with horrible motives - the way that he has gotten away with so much over the years is 1) people afraid to speak up for numerous reasons, but more importantly 2) he does MANY short term (usually a week) trips with groups that only see the finer side of things ... these groups don't know the specifics about where the money is going because they aren't living in Haiti and seeing the way things run on a daily basis. All they see is this huge house with electricity, meals prepared for them twice a day, big vans with tinted windows and air conditioning to travel from site to site, and the nice resorts that they are taken too for meals and swimming ... Yes, I want people to see that Haiti isn't all negative like many media sites proclaim it to be, but at the same time these groups are only seeing the upside of the organization and Haiti - and I experienced these groups making such awesome comments and how they just loved this organization and Mortensen is doing such a fabulous job - however, they didn't have a 2 year hold cling to them in an orphanage because she was so sick and I was the first person to offer her any hope in who knows how long, they didn't have to write basic prescriptions for sick patients to go to the pharmacies to get medication after they already paid for our medical clinic because we ran out of funds to provide those medications, they didn't have to sit back at the house and waste a perfectly good day that we could help people because we didn't have the funds to go into the mountains and preform the medical clinics that we were brought to Haiti to do, they didn't have to give money out of their pocket to help a selfless woman buy propane so she could cook food for the kids she's raising in the orphanage because this so called "awesome" organization didn't supply her with the adequate supplies, they didn't have to throw away a dozen boxes of insulin syringes because they weren't stored in the correct manner (and no, 100 degrees on the second floor of the intern house is not the proper way to store insulin) ... so frustrating to sit in a "recap" group with a team that have been in Haiti for 5 days and have only seen the upper side of life ... even more frustrating bringing my concerns to this "leader" and basically have him laugh in my face and then after reading my blog threaten to send me home the next day - why? because I'm too outspoken and he didn't like getting called out on his crap ... part of my heart is with the Haitians and it kills me to know that they are being taken advantage of by this person who claims to so many that he's there to help them and to better them and to empower them - i call BS on that!!
DeleteThanks to everyone for sharing the truth about WWV and Randy...everything they say is true...One time on of his volunteers gave me $10 after she heard me tell him I needed to get paid it had been 2 months at this point. I told him I needed money for food...he never said a word just let her give it to me it was all she had on her....They owe me for 5 months wages,rent,food and gas I was working for them making molds for free hearing aids. He makes me sick and needs to be stoppped at all costs.
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