tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21083673.post6692432324745528636..comments2023-10-28T03:07:12.758-07:00Comments on Mirror On America: Insight as to why Wyclef's charity was attacked.Brian http://www.blogger.com/profile/07872444863142531165noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21083673.post-10839488968695279902010-01-20T13:00:01.789-08:002010-01-20T13:00:01.789-08:00"If it's true that he's somehow about..."If it's true that he's somehow about TO transform Haiti's misfortunates into something from which he can personally benefit, that is NOT a good look.Andrehttp://unmitigatedword.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21083673.post-28013481020133052542010-01-20T12:58:22.941-08:002010-01-20T12:58:22.941-08:00Frankly, after reading the Smoking Gun report, the...Frankly, after reading the Smoking Gun report, the evidence against him is pretty compelling. With that, I certainly hope he's not trying to invoke the victim card (race, stardom, or the like). After all, I remember when organizations also took heat for exploiting resources and donations during 9/11 and Katrina as well. Yele getting scrutinized is not some novel idea.<br /><br />What makes the Yele fact finding unnerving is that Wyclef is a Haitian himself. If it's true that he's somehow about transform Haiti's misfortunates into something from which he can personally benefit, that is NOT a good look. If that's somehow the case, Wyclef has officially become the Michael Moore of Haiti; benefiting that the expense of other people. Poor people.Andrehttp://unmitigatedword.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21083673.post-91259720657426304292010-01-20T03:13:34.500-08:002010-01-20T03:13:34.500-08:00Opinions on both sides seem reasonable. From Wycle...Opinions on both sides seem reasonable. From Wyclef's point of view and from the point of view of the commenter, I can see how the raising of questions (and the timing) could be very annoying. Not surprising to me that there is an entrenched insider culture in the world of NGO's. And i'm aware of the dependency issues. This has been a problem going back decades. <br /><br />I think critics and other NGO's may have been irked by the fact that his star power & his appearances on Television were bringing Yele a disproportionate amount of funds (as they may have seen it), at a crucial time when the bigger groups had more folks on the ground and when their organizations may have more experience with disaster relief...and felt that donations to Yele could be more effectively spent with more efficient, more experienced NGO's. For them, his star power shouldn't siphon off donations to less experienced, less efficient organizations. <br /><br />I can also understand the points of view of the critics. I read the reports.... there were some legitimate questions about the management (the bean counting). These are organizations that have to have their affairs in order, because they could be placed under the spotlight at any time. It is Wyclef's fault for not understanding this...and for not having attorney's and accountants make sure that the paperwork for the organization was so solid that it could not be doubted or questioned. The organization should exceed the standard for similar organizations in terms of management practices. Wyclef should have anticipated scrutiny...and should have had all his ducks in a row. <br /><br />And i'm not sure if Yele is a partner organization under the UN (it may be too small)...but he should have done more to establish partnerships with governments and larger NGO's....<br /><br />He also needs to make sure he has a board of directors/trustees that is without question...where there are none of the peculiar conflicts of interests that were mentioned in one of the reports. He needs strong experienced board members (perhaps with folks who have a strong reputation within the NGO world) and he needs an experienced CEO who could navigate the organization and Wyclef through these kinds of situations.Brian https://www.blogger.com/profile/07872444863142531165noreply@blogger.com