Dear
John and Cammie Rice
You are
generous donors to the Cambodian Children’s Fund. No doubt you believe that
Scott Neeson and CCF are doing a good job lifting children out of poverty. And
you have been to Cambodia often enough to have seen evidence of this with your
own eyes. I wonder, however, if you have seen anything other than what Scott
Neeson wants you to see? Arranges for you to see?
Over the
past two years, in my role as a filmmaker, journalist and blogger, I have asked
many questions of Scott and the CCF board about how donor and sponsor monies
are spent. No answers are forthcoming.
I have
pointed out on my blog, when information became available to me, where Scott
Neeson has be parsimonious with the truth. The most glaring example of this is
the ‘World Housing’ initiative that involved, Scott announced around the world,
‘gifting’ homes to poor families. This was intended to make the initiative
attractive to sponsors and donors. Unfortunately, the houses have not been
‘gifted’ but have been rented to poor families.
This may
not seem like a big deal – until, that is, you realize that between $0.5
million and $1 million worth of housing has been erected on land owned by
someone within the CCF ‘family’. The owner (or owners) have had the value of
their land increased from between half to a million dollars whilst sponsors and
donors have been led to believe that the homes were given to poor families.
This is
the most graphic example of the verbal sleights of hand (amongst other tricks) Scott
practices to keep sponsors and donors reaching for their wallets.
Both
Scott Neeson and the Cambodian Children’s Fund board refuse to reveal just who
is the recipient of these 360 free houses. I wonder if you know? If no, perhaps
you’d like to ask Scott?
Scott
Neeson will present you with a long list of reasons why I cannot be trusted.
His tactic, for several years now, has been to shoot the messenger. C’est la vie!
Just
take a look at the series of questions I have asked of Samuel Robinson, Bob
Alexander, Bob Tufts and Heather Graham this past week (CCF board members all) and ask yourselves:
“Are these reasonable questions of the kind that sponsors
and donors have a right to ask?”
And
another:
“Why won’t Scott Neeson, Samuel Robinson or any members
of the Cambodian Children’s Fund board answer questions such as these?”
And another:
“How does CCF account for the approximately $3 million in
salary expenses for the financial year ending in 2015 that cannot be accounted
for”
I will
add a fourth question:
“Have either of you, John and Cammie, ever asked Scott
questions along these lines?”
And a
final one:
“Given that you are generous donors to the Cambodian
Children’s Fund could you please recommend to Scott Neeson and the board that
they be more transparent in accounting not only for the money you give to CCF
but to the money provided to the NGO by other generous donors and sponsors?”
For a
full list of the questions I believe sponsors and donors have a right to be
given answers to can be found by working backwards from this message for
Heather Graham.
best
wishes
James
Ricketson
There's a sucker born every minute
ReplyDeleteA fool and his money are soon parted
ReplyDeleteFuck you Rickts these are good people and you put shit on them for hepping. Fuck you, fuck yioyu, fuck you.
ReplyDeleteYes, they are good people. That is the problem. A lot of good people, a lot of generous sponsors and donors, believe what Neeson tells them. He has constructed a world in which there are a lot of children who have hopeless parents who do not love them, who abandon them at the rubbish dump, who are unable or unwilling to take care of their own kids. This is nonsense. I have yet to meet a Cambodian mother or father, no matter how poor, who does not love their kids. They don't need Neeson to take their kids from them. They need help to become less poor. They need help to be able to feed, clothe and put a roof over the heads of their kids. What Neeson is offering is to take their kids away, put them in a dormitory, separate brothers and sisters, brothers and brothers, sisters, and tell donors and sponsors that their parents don't love them and have their best interests at heart. Scott does, however! He will rescue them from their families and collect $150 a month in sponsorships for doing so. And for breaking up families this way Neeson wants, expects and gets praise and a constant flow of dollars into CCF bank accounts.
DeleteAnd what do Cambodia's human rights organisations and media have to say about this? Nothing.
In his own way, and in ways that I do not pretend to understand, Neeson has bought the silence of human rights organisations and the media alike.
It is going to be instructive to see how Charity Navigator deals with the indisputable fact that CCF deserves a 0.00% rating when it comes to transparency and accountability. My latest email to Charity Navigator:
ReplyDelete"Dear Marwah Maasarani
If Charity Navigator wishes to come out of this with any credibility at all you really need to ask Scott Neeson and his board some hard questions. They are guilty of serious charity fraud and they can get away with it, in part, because you have provided the charity with the imprimatur of your approval. You shout read this, and the three previous blog entries. ANd you should keep your eyes on the next couple of blog entries I will be making:
http://cambodia440.blogspot.com/2016/10/205-more-questions-for-heather-graham.html
cheers"
I do not personally know Scott Neeson, but I would not trust donating any funds to a so-called charity operated by someone responsible for initiating the false imprisonment of an innocent man like David Fletcher.
ReplyDeletean innocent man who also spent jail time in the UK for sex with a minor. You're another pedophile apologist for Ricketson.
Delete