In the "NGO Public Relations Disaster" Department...

Published June 06, 2009 @ 11:05AM PT

The BBC is reporting that World Vision staff in Liberia stole over $1 million from the program. According to the article:

"A US-based international Christian relief organisation says it believes more than 90% of its aid to Liberia went missing in a massive fraud scam.

World Vision's Vice-President Geoff Ward told the BBC the losses came to more than $1m and pledged to make "every effort" to avoid a repeat.

A former senior World Vision official in Liberia and two other workers have been charged over the alleged fraud.

They are accused of selling the food in local markets and keeping the profits.

They are also alleged to have used construction materials to build themselves multiple homes using labour provided by US-funded aid workers."

I'm trying to think of a larger NGO public relations nightmare. And failing. A moment of silence to think about all those in Liberia now doing without, and also to think of all those in the World Vision communications and fundraising departments now contemplating seppuku.

To read World Vision's statement about the situation, see here.

[Photo of a village in Liberia from media.tricities.com]

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Author

Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.