A letter from Fred's lawyer

I will attach the letter in question if Dawn gives me permission.. she forwarded it to me today by email. The letter basically says that Dawn should be punished under Tanzanian law for writing this blog. Only thing is... she doesn't write it. I do.

I post evidence against them online because I have finally accepted that the orphanage is a farce, many kids aren't orphans, the children are mistreated and beaten severely and the board of directors is stealing money from donors hand over fist. This is my opinion based on six years of experience and close contact with Hisani "orphanage".

In the letter to the court from his lawyer, Fred is trying to get Dawn thrown in jail... again. He has blamed her for writing this blog and therefore interfering with his charity operations which she is not allowed to do while they have a pending court case.

Come One, Come All!

This site is now completely public. I have submitted it to all internet search engines. I hope that readers of this blog will forward this site to everyone they know. I recently received word of two more children who have fled from Hisani and sought protection from social services. They were temporarily moved to another location. Social services then told the children that they were lying about the abuse that they had received and told them that they would have to return to Hisani or fend for themselves. They are in standard 5. Unfortunately I don't have any more information about their identity or their status, but as it comes in I will post more.

This blog has been quiet for a few weeks while I deal with other things but make no mistake, it is not a sign that I am giving up the fight. Those who continue to allow children to live in these conditions (you know who you are) will ultimately be judged by "God", but I (we) continue to fight for justice for these kids a bit earlier.

Follower Blocked :

A note about the only follower so far that I have blocked from the blog. I have blocked this follower for obvious reasons. If you are unable to read the description it says "I was amazed to see this picture of yours. I can believe you are a commercial sex worker this is rubbish and you better think twice."

Yes, Fred I can see you visiting this site every day.

First posted photos of scars from brutal beatings

A teenage boy who is now in my care gave me a tour of the scars on his body. Life here is tough for everyone, but worse for kids who live through the abuse at Hisani. He has many scars from manual labour from his home and from Hisani but the chilling ones are on his back.



Frednand's punishment for wetting the bed is being whipped by an electrical cord. A child is forced to strip naked in front of front of his peers (boys and girls mixed) and another child is made to inflict the beating.



Most of the scars are raised. Apparently the frayed edges of the wire would get embedded in the skin, making it take a long time to heal.





Other infractions which require the same punishment:

-Speaking Swahili (Over the years this rule has fluctuated)

-Playing football at school (Football is only allowed on Saturdays)

-Eating fruit from the trees on Hisani grounds without permission

-Hugging volunteers

-Giving information about your past to volunteers

"SCORE ONE FOR THE GOOD GUYS!"

Got this sms just now from Karagwe:

"Good News. Xxxx is now unofficially free and clear (of the false charges brought against him). Xixixix and I have to come back ... to officially make sure its removed. It was costly but not as much as I anticipated. And we heard that the police caught the guy (the man who brought the false charges)... SCORE ONE FOR THE GOOD GUYS!"

xxxxxxx's court case

Xxxxx is a youth that formerly lived at Hisani. He was collecting evidence in Karagewe against Hisani when he was charged with two crimes.... both fake. The police kept him in lockup for 48 hours with no food or water during which time Frednand tried to pressure him to switch sides and tell him everything he found out. One of the charges has been dropped already, another is still pending.

xxxxxx's court case was supposed to be today. It has been rescheduled for July. Social Services in Karagwe has been informed of the issues and have decided to pursue a court case against Nekemia Babara. This is the man who is the charging xxxxxx with a crime. He is also the father of "small" Nelson Nekemia and Frank Babara. (He changed their names so people would not guess that they are brothers.) Mr. Babara found out that someone was making a case against him and ran away. This is why xxxxxx's case has been delayed. The good news is that now we know we can prosecute parents that have sent their child to live at an orphanage - and there are many. Be aware these are not destitute families that cannot afford to take care of their children. They are mostly working professionals that would rather send their children away to be exploited than to care for them themselves.

I used to be bothered by the poor environment at Hisani. (not the food shelter and clothes, but the harsh supervision and poor care) I used to say to myself, "But if they can live through it, they will come out the other end with a good education." Yup. Its still true. But for me the ends no longer justify the means. Who cares about having a good education if your whole childhood was torturous? What kind of values are they learning for when they have their own children? I see the emotional, physical and psychological scars left by Hisani on the children who I now keep at my home and its not worth it.

What will happen to the children?

A few people have expressed concerns about what will happen to the children if Hisani closes. For sure that is first and foremost in our minds as we only want to improve their lives, not make them worse. I have contacted a number of organizations who are willing to take on the children who are actually orphans. In the end, however, the fate of the children lies with the government and social welfare office.

Soon I will post addresses of the main people that oversee these issues so that everyone interested can write them letters expressing our concerns. That way even if people reading this disagree with what I believe they can have their opinions on the matter heard. My desired outcome is to see Hisani closed, the assets seized (although the actual orphanage I think should be handed over to another NGO), and sold to provide private school scholarships for the Hisani children. I sponsor eleven orphaned children in Tanzania myself and I have to say that going to private school is a hell of a lot better than living in an orphanage.

A letter I sent to all emails I could find for people that send money or volunteers to Hisani

Dear All,

I have been communicating with a few people regarding Hisani Centre
For Women and Children's Rights. I was careful who I was talking to,
but now that my identity has been compromised I figure that full
transparency is in everybody's best interests. For the record the
reason I am not sending any more information to people that I don't
know personally is that Frednand has given a friend of mine detailed
information about the letters I have sent to Colin. I believe Colin
when he says that he did not forward the letters himself, but the
information was given to Fred somehow.

Regards

(Following was the all of the correspondence which I have had with Colin.)

Lies on the Internet

Here is a list of places where Fred has listed Hisani. If you want a good laugh, try the last one first. I don't know where he came up with the list of activities Hisani is supposedly involved in!

http://www.wecaretoo.com/Organizations/TAN/hisani.html

http://www.jagriti-international.org/organizations.asp?Country=Tanzania,%20United%20Republic%20of

http://www.crin.org/organisations/vieworg.asp?id=1896

http://www.wiserearth.org/organization/view/3b1331c2ae089c5df295a9111c533546

http://www.xxicentury.org/guestbook/guestbookHCA.html

I guess this is how my letters to Colin got to Fred...

Hi xxxxxxx,

You are not correct. Your email was forwarded to Professor Gabriel Mwaluko
who is investigating on our behalf. You cannot expect to make all the
allegations that you are making and not have them fully investigated - after
all that is what you have asked us to do. Professor Mwaluko will be giving
us a report in due course. If you are not prepared to send us the
statements and video - which we would prefer to be sworn testimonies in
front of an advocate/solicitor - then it will not be possible for us to
confirm that they exist and have them dealt with appropriately. You will
be damaging your own case. It's up to you.

Colin

Kids Aid Tanzania attempt at controling finances

48.Main Street, Etwall, Derby, DE65 6LP, United Kingdom

Email: info@kidsaidtanzania.org.uk Tel: 01283 733001 www: kidsaidtanzania.org.uk


8 November 2010

Financial Transparency at Hisani

This letter is addressed to known overseas funders of Hisani and comes from Kids Aid Tanzania, a charity registered in England and Wales which has been the main overseas supporter of the orphanage in Buswelu since 2005 and the author if its first development plan. You can find out more about us on our websites, www.kidsaidtanzania.org.uk and www.africaorphanagevolunteering.org.uk , and in our Annual Report and Accounts on the website of the Charity Commission of England and Wales at http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithoutPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1111220&SubsidiaryNumber=0

I assume that you are aware that there is no transparency in how Hisani uses the money which is given to it. It has no auditable accounting system. Further, it neither follows its Constitution, nor the law governing NGOs in Tanzania with respect to the annual submission of audited accounts and fees to the government. In the past, this has not been a cause of major concern to Kids Aid Tanzania (KAT). We had a reasonable understanding from another orphanage with developed accounting systems, together with historical information provided by Hisani, of what the cost of running an orphanage like Hisani’s in the Mwanza region should be – around 30-40,000 Tz shillings per month per child cared for. We knew that our grant, together with income from the volunteering programme we promote, did not exceed this.

The situation has now changed as others have become more involved with Hisani, a development which we are pleased to see and has enabled more children to be cared for. However, this has taken place in a manner which has given rise to even less transparency than there was before. In particular, several different bank accounts are now in use which have the effect of hiding from individual funders the total income actually received from overseas.

It has always been a condition of KAT’s monthly grant that Hisani provides us with information on money it receives from overseas through sending us its bank statements each month. This is to enable the trustees of Kids Aid Tanzania to determine whether the needs of Hisani justify the use of charitable funds raised in the United Kingdom. Only recently did we discover that additional bank accounts were being used apart from the official Hisani account at CRDB Bank. Fred has now provided us with statements for all of them.

We have said to Hisani that the amount of money currently being received through its different bank accounts does not allow us to continue to provide funding without a proper accounting system being established and monitored by a registered accountant. Fred has agreed to this and we are working towards its full implementation during the coming months.

I am contacting you, as one of the organisations or individuals who has provided a significant amount of support to Hisani in recent times, to help us achieve an outcome which meets the needs of all funders for an accounting system which is fully transparent, and to further the growth of Hisani. Kids Aid Tanzania was recently offered £10,000 towards a Hisani building project but this offer was withdrawn because of Hisani’s lack of audited accounts. This demonstrates clearly that it is in Hisani’s interests to implement sound accounting practices as well as those of its overseas supporters.

You may wish to see the information which has given rise to our concern.

Hisani’s overseas income

Hisani’s income for the period 1st January 2010 to September 2010, based on the bank statements we have been given, has been nearly 68 million shillings, made up as follows:

Tz shillings

Kids Aid Tanzania 25,234,488

L’Associazione Filippo Astori 25,488,610

Canadian former volunteer 10,323,075

Other funders 6,653,205

Your browser may not support display of this image. 67,699,378

In addition to this, there is locally generated income from a lorry and two minibuses supplied by overseas funders, and volunteer payments. The lorry, which KAT supplied, has provided a further 9,000,000/= over this period, and 2 minibuses, provided by two former Hisani volunteers, at least this much again. Volunteer fees will have added a further 5,000,000/=.

Thus Hisani’s known monthly income is currently in the region of 9,000,000/=. This is around double the amount of money needed to support an orphanage which presently cares for, according to Fred’s latest figures, 84 children in Buswelu and 46 at Lukobe. However, we anticipate that some of this income may be being provided for building projects or for secondary school fees. Also, we have not taken into account the expenses associated with the vehicles (drivers’ wages, fuel etc) or the running costs of the volunteer compound. These unknowns are illustrative of the transparency problem.

Hisani Schools Ltd

An additional complication is that Fred and Grace have set up a commercial company called Hisani Schools Ltd. This has yet to trade. Despite its name, its Articles of Association give the running of schools as only one of its 21 permitted activities. The remaining 20 cover everything from banking to retail. It is not linked in any legal manner to the work of the Hisani Centre for Women’s and Children’s Rights and its profits go to the shareholders, of which Fred and Grace are the only two at present. There is nothing wrong in this. However, overseas funders may feel, as KAT does, that the case for a transparent accounting system to demonstrate that money given for the benefit of the children is used only for this and does not find its way into a commercial enterprise, is strengthened even further.

This need is given further emphasis by the manner in which the different bank accounts are used. In western countries, different bank accounts may be held for different projects. A measure of management control is provided by using only the cheque book relating to a specific account for making


payments relating to that project. This is not Hisani’s practice because cheques are not widely trusted. The first thing Fred does on receiving money from overseas – as the bank statements show - is to withdraw it and to keep the money as cash at the orphanage. This involves millions of shillings. As one bank note looks very much like another, the possibility of using money raised for one purpose being used for another is very real.

KAT’s present support for Hisani

In the interests of completeness I will list the extent of KAT’s present involvement with Hisani

* We provide a monthly grant of £1,000. This is reviewed every 6 months. The future of this grant will depend on our success in implementing a proper accounting system. We are prepared to provide Hisani with the software necessary for this and will give training in its use when we return to Mwanza early in 2011. We will require Hisani to provide us with monthly accounts which have been checked by an auditor, together with bank statements as at present.



* We provide fees for the first two Hisani children who went to secondary school, Rose and Nelson. Their 4 years of schooling ends this year and their school reports make it unlikely that we shall extend our funding for them further.



* We promote volunteering at the Hisani orphanage and were responsible for the initial funding and furnishing of the volunteer compound. We provide intending volunteers with detailed notes on what to expect, current entry visa and volunteer work permit regulations etc. However, we do not take bookings. These are made directly with Fred. Volunteers pay Fred a fee of $350 a month to cover accommodation, meals and a donation to the orphanage. They often bring extra money with them, as well as donating to KAT.



* We do not presently fund any building activities. In the past, we paid for the water tank and tower, and the shower/toilet block.



Bank accounts examined

I will also list the bank accounts which we have examined.

* The CRDB Bank account was agreed with Hisani to be its bank account some three years ago. It is cheap to operate and efficient for the transfer of money from overseas. At present, only KAT is using it. There is a monthly fee of 8,200/= and a charge of 7,000/= to process overseas transfers



* An account at Standard Chartered. This year it has been used by L’Associazione Filippo Astori, a Canadian former volunteer and some miscellaneous donors. When KAT began funding Hisani it was through Standard Chartered. This was changed at Fred’s request because of its expense. Earlier this year Fred told us that this account had been closed! Its monthly operating costs are currently 20,000/= and it charges 15,000/= to process an overseas transfer. It is more than twice as expensive as CRDB and we don’t know why it is still in operation.



* Dollar and Tanzanian shillings accounts at the Diamond Trust Bank in the name of the Lukobe Organisation. This NGO was set up as a collaboration between a former Hisani volunteer from Canada and Hisani to develop a community project at Lukobe, an area about a 15 minute drive from Buswelu, which we have visited. This project has been wholly funded from money provided from Canada either directly or through a Canadian charity Global Peace Network. Further information will be found on the following websites www.lukobeproject.com and www.globalpeacenetwork.ca . Sadly, relationships have broken down over Hisani’s inability to show, to the satisfaction of the Canadian funders, that all the money sent was used for the purposes for which it was sent. The result has been a withdrawal of further funding from Canada and a court case instigated by Hisani to prevent recovery of assets funded by the Canadians. Because of this, the bank statements show no transactions since the beginning of the year. The project now seems to be functioning solely as a branch of the Buswelu orphanage.



* Savings & Finance Commercial Bank account belonging to Hisani Schools Ltd. This account held 96,000/= at the beginning of the year and 23.500/= at the year end. There was no activity on this account other than bank charges.



We enquired about any accounts relating to Hisani’s venture with the Asante Sana Organisation relating to the health centre project. Fred has told me that at present all costs are being dealt with by Asante Sana but that this will change when the centre becomes fully operational. This has the potential to reduce transparency even further, as the source of the money for running this venture is not evident.

In conclusion

KAT can only continue to fund Hisani if a satisfactory auditable accounting system is introduced and we are working with Hisani to meet this. As well as meeting our needs, this system will also enable Hisani to satisfy the requirements of the Tanzanian government and its own Constitution. Other benefits to Hisani will be the ability to access overseas funding not previously open to it and the avoidance of the concerns which led to the withdrawal of Canadian funds for the Lukobe project.

We intend to move ahead on this and provide accounting software to support the change.

To simplify the systems which provide input to the accounting system we are recommending to Hisani that:

* Only one bank account should be used, that being the CRDB account. The others should be closed.



* All activities related to the orphanages, local communities and the health centre should be operated in accordance with the Constitution of Hisani Centre for Women’s and Children’s Rights. The Lukobe Organisation should be closed.



We would welcome your own views on what we have written. We will forward to you shortly the accounting system needed to meet KAT’s requirements, which we will be happy to modify if you have any requirements to meet your own needs.

(Dr) Colin McArdle

Chair of trustees

Kids Aid Tanzania

Reg Charity No. 1111220

More Drama

Last night I got a call. It seems that Colin, though I asked him repeatedly to keep my identity confidential, has been forwarding my emails to Fred. Argh. So I don't think I will be going back to Mwanza again. Not without an armed guard anyway.

Here is the email I received from Colin today and my reply:

On 2/21/11, Kids Aid Tanzania wrote:
> Hi xxxxxxx,
>
> I would like to stress that we are investigating all the claims you are
> making. However, you must be prepared to give us all the information we
> need. Will you please forward to us copies of the statements and video you
> have - we will not pass them on to Fred and they will be safe from his eyes
> in the UK. Have they been sworn to in front of an advocate? Will you
> also send me Max's email address. I would also be grateful for copies of
> all the emails you refer to, for which you received blind copies, which
> relate to lying by Fred and misappropriation of money. I have no
> recollection of receiving any such emails, but my memory might be at fault.
> Such comments as we have received about Fred have had nothing to do with the
> matters in hand.
>
> I would also welcome your thoughts on what would happen to the children if
> we were to stop funding Hisani.
>
> Colin


Dear Colin,

I received information that you have forwarded my emails to Frednand.
Whether this is true or not I can't risk sending you any more
information in case it is leaked. Regarding the children I have
talked to a few places and there is definitely room for them
elsewhere.

I doubt you will hear from me again,
Good Luck,
xxxxxxx

My latest Correspondance with Colin from Kids Aid Tanzania

These letters occur in reverse chronological order. .. to understand the conversation read the last one first. before this conversation started the letter of recent events from the previous post was sent to colin.

Dear Colin,

Of course my main course of action is within the country. xxxxxx xxxxx
Social Welfare for weeks, and only now that we
have convinced them that they are implicated under The Law Of The
Child (TZ 2009) for not taking sufficient steps to ensure the safety
of the children are they are finally starting to investigate Hisani. The
police department has proved useless time and time again as it is the
person with the most money who they support and at this time Fred has
much more money than we do.

I forwarded you that letter so that you could be aware of what is
happening and decide for yourself what is best for the children and
your organization. I do not feel the need to prove to you all the
things I know about Hisani. I have given you information and it is
your responsibility to find out for yourself how bad the situation is.

Yes, I know Luigi, we met xxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx and was a friend of
mine until I learned recently that he has been accused of raping a
teenage boy. If I was welcome at Hisani anymore I would be there now
insuring that he is never alone in a room with any of "my" kids. You
may have also met my friend, xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx . He has told me quite a
few things about Luigi that makes my skin crawl. His nickname for the
doctor is xxxxxxxx because of how much he lies.

I am also fluent in Swahili and have spent much more time with these
children than Luigi. The stories they tell me about being forced to
strip naked and be beaten with electrical wire by their peers make it
difficult for me to sleep at night. This is why I have decided to do
my best to close down Hisani. I feel all of us who have been
supporting the project are responsible for the welfare of the children
and that we helped to put them in this situation by not fully
understanding who we were dealing with.

I know you have your own opinions on the matter but I would ask you to
consider the following:

I'm sure you are aware that duing your stay in Mwanza Fred was
arrested for discharging a firearm and kidnapping a reporter that was
interviewing xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx. Dawn told me a
couple of months ago that Fred keeps a loaded gun in his truck. xxxxxxxx x
xxxxxxxxxxx but I certainly believed her when xxxxxxx telling me that
Fred shot at someone. Do you think that sending young volunteers to
an environment such as that is a reasonable or responsible thing to
do?

I have been bcc'd on many emails to you from volunteers complaining
about Frednand. I myself did not find much reason to act on them
because quite a lot of the complaints were about minor infractions
such as lies and misappropriation of small funds. But you yourself
said that you received information about Patrice beating a young girl.
If you believe it to be true (and I certainly don't put it past him)
why did you not do anything about it? Yes, you may have sent an email
or two but you should know by now that when you are not physically
here in Tanzania, the people that run Hisani act however they please
and take no notice of your concerns. This is how things are in
Tanzania. It is a lesson that many of us "wazungu" learn the hard
way. Are you willing to support an organization that uses physical
violence as a form of punishment?

Thank you for the contact of Mr. Mwaluko. xxxxxx x x xxxxxxxx and I
have learned not to share information with important people in Mwanza
because chances are, they are friends with Fred and will just pass on
to him what we know. Or if they are not friends with him, they will
find him and sell him the information so that he knows what to cover
up. But I will certainly find out more about him and perhaps send him
an email.

I have attached a few recent documents that I have submitted to the
Department of Social Welfare as well as a few local children's rights
organizations. Its just a start, but I intend to xxxxxxxxxxx xxxx
to shine a spotlight on Hisani and bring them to justice.
I have written and video testimony from xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx x
but I do not have their permission to share it with anyone outside the
Tanzanian Judicial system.

Please remember my request of keeping my identity private if possible.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Regards,

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

- Hide quoted text -

On 2/18/11, Kids Aid Tanzania <kidsaidtanzania@btconnect.com> wrote:
> Hi xxxxxxxxxxxxx,
>
> If you are confident that your evidence will stand up to external scrutiny
> then you should go to the Welfare Department with it and possibly the
> Police. At present, the Welfare Department seems to be content to continue
> to refer children to Hisani. If this situation was to change then we would
> respond accordingly.
>
> Dr Luigi, who has been resident at Hisani for many months, is a fluent
> Kiswahili speaker, and converses regularly with the children, as we observed
> during our recent two week visit, has no particular concerns about the
> manner in which the children are treated.
>
> Professor Gabriel Mwaluko, the Technical Director of TANESA, based at the
> NIMR Building in Mwanza and regularly used by the WHO on its projects, is
> concerned about the allegations you have made and would be willing to
> discuss the situation with you. He is encouraging complete transparency at
> Hisani. You can contact him to discuss your concerns at 0282 502644
> (direct line), 0784 274545 (mobile) or g.mwaluko@yahoo.com
>
> Colin
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: 18 February 2011 05:42
> To: Kids Aid Tanzania
> Cc: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: Some correspondance re: Hisani
>
> Colin, don't worry about me, I don't fully trust anyone regarding this
> issue. I have been collecting information xxxxxxxxx and only have
> decided to act now because I have finally seen concrete evidence that
> proves what xxxxxxxxxxx been eluding to for xxxxxxxxx. I feel like
> I have given you enough information so that you can follow it up
> yourself. Why you decided to ignore the issue during your visit to
> Mwanza I don't know. If you continue to support Hisani you are
> supporting the abuse of children. That is your own decision.
>
> Your statement about acting on the side of caution baffles me. The
> safety of xxxxx, xxxxxxxxx, xxxxxx, xxxxxxxx, xxxxxx and xxxxxxxxxxx is
> in danger. Yours is not. In the case of probably abuse of children's
> rights I consider stopping your support to be acting on the side of
> caution. Who are you protecting by continuing to send money?
>
> Regards,
xxxxxxxxxx
>
> On 2/17/11, Kids Aid Tanzania <kidsaidtanzania@btconnect.com> wrote:
>> Hi xxxxxxxxxx
>>
>> Thank you for the emails. Obviously we take note of everything which is
>> sent to us but have to act with caution. I have warned Dawn not to treat
>> Patrice as whiter than white. The only case I can remember of a
> volunteer,
>> out of the hundred or so with whom we have contact, who made a complaint
>> about child abuse referred to Patrice beating a girl. He stopped when
> he
>> saw the volunteer. He may well have his own agenda. Your concerns
> must
>> be addressed through the Welfare Department and we look forward to hearing
>> the outcome.
>>
>> Best wishes
>>
>> Colin
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Sent: 27 January 2011 09:38
>> To: colin
>> Subject: Some correspondance re: Hisani
>>
>> Hello Colin,
>>
>> I have heard you have arrived in Mwanza now. Dawn told me that in the
>> past you have been resistant to making decisions based on hearsay and
>> conjecture. I usually agree with that stand point -especially when it
>> comes to financial matters - but I urge you to consider the
>> implications of your actions if you continue to support Hisani. I
>> myself am riddled with guilt knowing that I have supported hisani
>> these last xxxxx d now realizing that I helped put these
>> children in such a terrible environment.
>>
>> Just to keep you in the loop I am sending you my correspondance with
>> xxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxI know it
>> is odd that I am writing to you without ever meeting you, but I have
>> always been aware of your work at hisani, axxxxxxxx x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx have kept me abreast of your work in Buswelu so I
>> feel like I already know you. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lastest Commuication from Dawn and Colin's reply

From: kidsaidtanzania@btconnect.com
To: dawnschaller@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Mwanza visit
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 08:58:11 +0000

Hi Dawn,

We continue to proceed with caution. Unacceptable levels of violence against women and children are endemic in Tanzania, as you know, and there is no way that we would condone it. We do request volunteers to tell us if they have witnessed anything which disturbs them and few concerns have been expressed from the hundred or so volunteers with whom we have had relationships. The only instance of a report that I can remember at the moment involved Patrice beating a girl. He stopped when he saw the volunteer. We have this on record somewhere. So be careful of treating Patrice as a whiter than white observer. He may well have his own agenda. Of course, we cannot know what happens behind Hisani’s closed doors. The Welfare Department is the appropriate department to investigate this and we look forward to hearing about the results of their investigation.

We have now put in a full accounting system at Hisani, the operation of which is a condition of our continuing our grant. Orphan’s Voice did provide some funding for Hisani in the past. It was an American Christian organisation and, if my memory serves me right, was based on the sponsoring of orphans. Their pictures were shown on their website. There is no evidence of money coming from them in recent times according to the various Hisani bank statements. I don’t even know if they still exist since I haven’t been able to find a current website.

Now getting acclimatised to the cold of the UK which we finally reached on Sunday evening.

Best wishes

Colin

From: dawn schaller [mailto:dawnschaller@hotmail.com]
Sent: 04 February 2011 17:18
To: Kids Aid Tanzania
Subject: RE: Mwanza visit

Hi Colin,

I trust that you and your wife arrived back to the UK safely. I apologize for everything that happened in Mwanza. I hope that your Lion's Club Project in Bugarika was a success.

Sometimes I feel like I'm tattle tailing on the things that Fred is doing and the way Hisani is running: that its more than you care to listen to. I can understand your decision not to take sides. I respect that. I hope that you can also understand that this has now become personal to me.

I'm not sure what Fred explained to you in his absence on Saturday. But here are the facts.

- Fred was released from prison between 3-5pm on Saturday after Mr. Arron (the head teacher of Gedeli Primary School) posted bond for him

- Mr. Aaron spoke with the reporter who Fred shot at and they agreed that if Fred agreed to pay 1.2 million shillings the reporter would drop the case. Fred and the reporter agreed. Now life goes on as if nothing ever happened.

- Here is the story we got from the Director of ITV and the Reporter. The reporter went to interview Fred, (this was the same time I was sitting with you and your wife.) Fred was very evasive about questions and paid the reporter some money to drop the story. The 'shady' reporter decided that the money wasn't enough, so he went to Lukobe to take more pictures and ask more questions there.

Mama Ndogo called Fred. He and Grace rushed to meet the reporter. They met him on the road when Fred told him to get off the motorcycle and showed his pistol. The reporter immediately went to the fetal position on the ground. At which time Fred verbally threatened his life in Swahili saying "if you are going to run this story about me I will kill you." Fred then proceeded to shot his pistol less than two feet away from where the reporter was lying on the ground. The bullet hit the ground only 2 feet away from the face of the reporter. At the same time Grace took the reporters bag and stole everything inside it.

Fred put the reporter in the truck and drove to the police station and was upset/shocked that they arrested him instead of the reporter.

The rest is all back room deals that I was not privy to. Legally Fred should have stayed in jail until Monday at which time he should have appeared before the court. How he got out is by obvious means of corruption.

I reported to Social Services about all the children who weren't orphans at Hisani. Mama Missana, the person in charge of social services explained to me that at first Fred didn't follow any rules or regulations in the beginning. They knew that the first 25 children weren't from the government. But Fred assured them that they were indeed orphans. She said that since that time, no children should have come from outside of Mwanza without their knowing.

They asked me to give them 10 days to make a proper investigation. Over the last few days, myself and my husband have been contacted by the schools that the children from Hisani and Lukobe attend. (Lukobe Primary and Gedeli Primary) Begging us not to pursue this fake orphan case any further. They pointed out the facts that if we did. Fred would not only be the one in trouble. The head masters from each school would be too.

The head masters would be held accountable for accepting more than 60 children with out proper transfer papers from the children's former schools in karagwe.

Since all of this has happened, the children from Lukobe have magically disappeared. Fred is now claiming to the government that there never was an orphanage there, nor were their any childing residing there.

I am not sure which way the government will act in these charges or accusations towards Fred.

So far the people at fault are:

Hisani and Lukobe Organizations (all board members, including myself)

Persons in charge of Social Welfare department

The police and court for not upholding "The child act from 2009''

The Head Master's from both Primary Schools

The Education board for not monitoring school enrollment

This may turn into a big scandal or all get swept under the rug with a severe warning. It might be too difficult and bad media for Mwanza to implicate all the parties involved.

I understand that your concern is for the children. So is mine. All of the stuff I have mentioned so far does not include the abuses that are going on behind the doors of Hisani and Lukobe. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx have come forward to tell stories. (we have xxxxxx testimonyxxxxxxxxxx and pictures xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) of how Fred severely beats children with electrical cord, how he heats up knives until they are red hot and burns children, how sometimes he gets the children to inflict beatings on other children as a form of punishment so sometimes he doesn't have to.

These accusations are real. No one is there to stand up for the children's rights. The children have no one to turn to. Fred/Grace are related. Their teachers at Gedeli School are all either friends with Fred or members of the Lion's Club of Ilemela. Its not like the children here have the option to make a report to police. The other workers at Hisani all see what is going on, but they said that if they take a stand, Fred will fire them. Then they have no way to support their own families. So they keep quiet.

Since it is your funding who is keeping Hisani alive. I ask you to reconsider.

I beg you to reconsider at your next trustee meeting whether to keep supporting Hisani. Whether by supporting them you are really helping the children or not.

Attached is the list of children that was compiled by xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx All of the members who are listed on the constitution have children at Hisani and also have spouses, some have good jobs.

Another piece of news that we recently received is that an Organization called Orphans Voice has also been sponsoring children from the members of the constitution. I have proof of sponsorship from 05-07 but still need to inquire if it continued after that time.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Dawn

If you want proof or evidence to any of the things mentioned in this email. I am happy to send it.

A document detailing children's rights infractions

This document is not yet finished. It needs more specific details and lists of infractions. If you have any testimony to add, please post in comments. The full version of THE LAW OF THE CHILD (TZ 2009) is available at:

http://www.aclr.info/index.php/national-legislation/legislation-acts/535-law-of-the-child-act-tanzania.html

HISANI CENTRE FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

VS.

THE LAW OF THE CHILD

The information I have gathered comes from a variety of sources including past employees, volunteers, sponsors, and children at Hisani Centre for Women and Children's Rights hereinafter referred to as Hisani. All can be proved through testimony of the original source. Some information also has supporting documents.

I find that those parties involved in this issue include:

All staff and employees of the Department of Social Welfare for the region of Mwanza whether elected, appointed, or hired

Mr. Marklaud Kanyambo - founding member of Hisani

Mr. Frednand Fredrick - founding member and acting Director of Hisani

Miss Grace (Angel) Peter - founding member of Hisani

Mrs. Donatha John - founding member of Hisani

Mr. Stiadia Nestory - founding member of Hisani

Mrs. Florida Atusi - founding member of Hisani

Mr. Josephat Nganyizi - founding member of Hisani

Mrs. Kemia Christopher - founding member of Hisani

Mrs. Abelo Bubelwa - founding member of Hisani

Mr. Pikius Nyemeani - founding member of Hisani

Mrs. Florida William - founding member of Hisani

Mr. Bashiru Rashid - founding member of Hisani

Mrs. Christina Josephat - founding member of Hisani

While other laws and aspects of the Constitution of The United Republic of Tanzania may apply to this issue, this letter focuses only on congruency and non-congruency with the Law of the Child, 2009.

Only points pertaining to the issue are listed.

*******************************************************

Part II, subsection a, paragraph 4.2

The best interest of a child shall be the primary consideration in all actions concerning a child whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts or administrative bodies.

The parties implicated here are the board members of Hisani, as a private social welfare institution as well as the local Department of Social welfare.

I find that these parties did not act in the best interest of the child, nor were they trying to. The children living at Hisani since its inception have suffered from a poor medical attention, limited diet, and a harsh institutional environment. Most of the original children were the biological children of founding members of Hisani. It is obvious that the members of the board sent their own children away from the comfort of their home and family to live in an institution for the purposes of soliciting donations under false pretenses. So it is the fault of the board members and parents of the children for not only ignoring the best interest of a child but acting contrary to it. It is the fault of the local Department of Social Welfare for not monitoring this issue and stopping it for the sake of the children.

***********************************************************

Part II, subsection a, paragraph 5.2

A person shall not discriminate against a child on the grounds of gender, race, age, religion, language, political opinion, disability, health status, custom, ethnic origin, rural or urban background, birth, socio-economic status, being a refugee or of other status.

This point concerns the board members of Hisani because they are ultimately responsible for the safety and rights of the children under the care of their organization. There was a disabled boy named Emmanuel living at Hisani since before the first time I visited in 2005. He fled Hisani because he was being treated with disrespect and cruelty because of his physical disabilities. One former employee described the way he was fed porridge as inhumane, as it was merely poured down his throat without regard for the temperature of the food. He often suffered from a burnt throat because of this.

Another discriminatory act at Hisani is that the children who are directly related to the founding members are in much higher standing than the other children. The children who are not related to the members are beaten more severely, made to do more manual labour and are subjected to more psychologically damaging humiliation. Thus they are discriminated against under the category of birth. There are also reports that children whose parents are paying money to Frednand Fredrick are treated better than those who are unable to pay. This is a blatant example of socio-economic discrimination.

*********************************************

Part II, subsection a, paragraph 7.1

A child shall be entitled to live with his parents or guardians.

Part II, subsection a, paragraph7.2

A person shall not deny a child the right to live with his parents, guardian or family and to grow up in a caring and peaceful environment unless it is decided by the court that living with his parents or family shall -

(a) lead a significant harm to the child;

(b) subject the child to serious abuse; or

(c) not be in the best interest of the child.

As with the first point, this paragraph implicates the board members and parents of the children involved. Some of the children that have been made to live away from their parents in a poorly supervised environment (of up to 100 children and only one teacher to care for them) are the following:

Nelson, Rose, Rocta and Castro - Children of Mr. Marklaud Kanyambo

Anette - Daughter of Mrs. Donatha John

Steven, Clinton and Elina - Chidren of Mr. Stiadia Nestory

Matungwa - son of Mrs. Florida Atusi

Eric – son of Josephat Nganyizi

Edgar, Crispen, Anita and Evodus - Children of Mrs. Kemia Christopher

Christina - Daughter of Mr. Pikius Nyemeani

This list is not exhaustive. These are only the children of the members of the Board of Hisani that have been sent to live in an orphanage without regard to the Law of the Child. None of the 3 points made in the law in paragraph 7.2 have been found in court, therefore the children should be in the care of their parents. In fact, by sending their children to Hisani centre for "children’s rights" they are putting them in an environment that puts them at risk to be subjected to the type of negative impacts that the paragraph outlines.

Some of the children that have been sent to live away from their parents that are not the biological children of board members of Hisani are:

Judith, Erik, Johnathan, Vai, Anitha, Eloy Nickson, Joyven John, Joyless, Joshua, Juanita, Baraka, Nelson, Frank, Huruma, Patrick James, Mlokozi, Justin Kishweko,

There is a list of all children who have lived at Lukobe, another location of the same NGO and Hisani who have parents and the various ways they came to live in an orphanage. Most of the children who have parents are related to the members of the board of Hisani.

*********************************************************************

Part II, subsection a, paragraph 8.2

A person shall not deprive a child access to education, immunization, food, clothing, shelter, health and medical care or any other thing required for his development.

In March of 2010, one physically and mentally disabled boy named Marwa died at Bugando Hospital in Mwanza. The child died from malaria. In a fully funded, large scale institution for a child to die of something that is so easily treated is a travesty. Marwa was sick for over a week before he was taken to the local KKT clinic which gives Hisani children free medical care. As there was no money necessary, making the child wait to be examined was obvious neglect and deprivation described in this paragraph. After being examined at the clinic, the doctor/medical officer suggested that the child be taken immediately to Bugando hospital, where they were more equipped to help him in his already frail condition. Frednand Fredrick and Grace Peter ignored the advice of the doctor and took the child back to the orphanage where he suffered for five more days until someone who is not on the board nor an employee of the orphanage took him to the district hospital. There the child died after two days. Frednand Fredrick then arranged for the body to be buried quickly without funeral and without disclosing to his loved ones the location of the grave. There are many other cases of such neglect, especially deprivation of medical attention, but this is the worst and most significant because a child died that might have lived.

****************************************************

Part II, subsection a, paragraph 8.5

A person shall not treat a child with disabilities in an undignified manner.

Part II, subsection a, paragraph 8.6

A child with disabilities shall be entitled to special care, treatment, affordable facilities for his rehabilitation and equal opportunities to education and training wherever possible to develop his maximum potential and be self-reliance.

The two disabled children that were living at Hisani are named Marwa and Emmanuel. They both suffered under the harsh regime of the institution, not given special care by staff, merely left for the other children to care for. These two special children often smelled of their own waste as it was young children that tried to carry them to and from the toilet. Many of the volunteers at Hisani tried to help Marwa become stronger and develop muscle tone so that his fragile body could learn to support his own weight. Under medical advice a strategy was formed that consisted of a higher protein diet and physical therapy style exercises. The staff and Directors at Hisani took no interest in the continued health of the young boy, so when the volunteers left no one continued the program. I believe that testimony from Emmanuel will help to bring the facts of this issue to light.

Document is unfinished at this time. Further notes will be made on how actions of the board and Directors of Hisani Centre for Women and Children’s Rights contradicted The Law of the Child under the following categories:

Part II, subsection a, paragraph 9.1

A child shall have the right to life, dignity, respect, leisure, liberty, health, education and shelter from his parents.

Part II, subsection a, paragraph 9.2

The right to leasure and liberty by the child shall be subject to guidance and ability of a parent, guardian or relative.

Part II, subsection a, paragraph 9.3

Every parent shall have duties and responsibilities whether imposed by law or otherwise towards his child which include the duty to-

(a) protect the child from neglect, discrimination, violence, abuse, exposure to physical and moral hazards and oppression;

(b) provide guidance, care, assistance and maintenance for the child

********************************************

11. A child shall have a right of opinion and no person shall deprive a child capable of forming views the right to express an opinion, to be listened to and to participate in decisions which affect his well-being.

12. A person shall not employ or engage a child in any activity that may be harmful to his health, education, mental, physical or moral development.

13.-(1) A person shall not subject a child to torture, or other cruel, inhuman punishment or degrading treatment including any cultural practice which dehumanizes or is injurious to the physical and mental well-being of a child.

(3) The term "degrading treatment" as used in this section means an act done to a child with the intention of humiliating or lowering his dignity.

14. A person who contravenes any provision of this Part, commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding five million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.

Part IV

33.-(1) A person shall not publish any information or a photograph that may lead to the identification of a child in any matter before the court except with the permission of the court.

(2) Any person who publishes any information or photograph contrary to this section commits an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to a fine of not less than two million shillings and not more than fifteen million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.

Part VII Subsection a

78.-( 1) A person shall not employ or engage a child in any kind of exploitative labour.

(3) Labour shall be considered exploitative if -

(a) it deprives the child of his health or development;

(b) it exceeds six hours a day;

(c) it is inappropriate to his age; or

(d) the child receives inadequate remuneration.

(4) Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this section commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine of not less than one hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term of three months or to both.

79.-(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 78, the child shall not be employed or engaged in a contract of the service performance which shall require a child to work at night.

(2) "Night work" shall be construed to constitute work performance of which requires the child to be at work between the hours of twenty hours in the evening and six o'clock in the morning.

(3) Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this section commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine of not less than one hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term of three months or to both.

80.-(1) Any person who induces, procures, demands or imposes forced labour to a child, commits an offence.

(2) For the purposes of this section, "forced labour" includes bonded labour or any other work exacted from a person under the threat of a penalty but shall not include work that forms part of the normal civic obligations, minor communal services performed by the members of a community in the direct interest of that community.

(3) Ay person who contravenes any of the provision of this section commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine of not less than two hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term of six months or to both.

81.-( 1) A child has a right to be paid remuneration equal to the value of the work done.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Employment and Labour Relations Act, any employer who contravenes the provisions of this section commits an offence.

82.-(1) It shall be unlawful to employ or engage a child in any hazardous work.

(3) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine of not less than one million shillings and not more than five hundred million shilling or to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year and not more than twenty years or to both.

The cover letter to social welfare.

A letter outlining recent activities. "xxxxxx" shows where I have removed information that needs to stay out of Fred's hands.

Feb 3, 2011

To Whom It May Concern,

RE: CORRUPTION, CHILD EXPLOITATION AND ILLEGAL ACTIVITY OF HISANI CENTRE FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN’S RIGHTS, MWANZA TANZANIA, NON-GOVERMENTAL ORGANIZATION Registration Number 10634

Hisani orphanage has been operating for about ten years. Many of the "orphans”, they have there are not orphans. They have parents, some of which sent their children there because they were told it was an international school. Some people are even paying for their children to be there, not knowing it is an orphanage.

The children at Hisani are treated harshly behind closed doors. They are often beaten to the point of drawing blood. I have bandaged many wounds myself that could not have happened from as the children say "falling down". They are made to do manual labour while having these open wounds. Sick children wait for days with high fever before being taken to the hospital, even though they get free treatment from the local KKT hospital. One child died this year from such neglect. He was taken after over a week of being sick to the local clinic where the doctors said that he should be taken immediately to the district hospital for treatment. He was then left at the orphanage for another five days until an outsider saw his condition and rushed him to Bugando hospital. He died soon after and his body was buried before his friends and loved ones were notified. There was no funeral.

The children are fed very poor food, often full on insects, even though from what I understand Colin from Kids Aid Tanzania, a UK based NGO, is sending more than enough money per month for a proper diet.

Fred gets sponsorships for secondary students from multiple donors for the same child. He has bought so much land with the money he has stolen and is using the children as labourers to build his houses. He also exploits the children by taking them from their study time and forcing them to work on his friends’ farms.

Dawn Schaller is a Canadian woman who has been involved with Hisani since 2005. As she learned more about the atrocities that go on there, she started to fight Fred. They have a case against each other in court and Fred is constantly harassing her by having her arrested for fake crimes and telling lies to immigration to get her deported. Many times people in the village have advised Dawn to leave the city temporarily because Fred has sent someone to hurt her and her family.

There have been many volunteers over the years that notice something is fishy. When they ask too many questions or try to report Fred to the authorities Fred has immigration deport them.

Fred and Grace, the two people in charge of the centre, are brother and sister. Many of the children at Hisani are their nieces and nephews. They want to hide this fact so if a child calls one of them aunty or uncle, they are beaten severely.

The last boy who tried to help us expose Hisani is now in prison. His name is Xxxxxx. Xxxxxxx (xxxxx) and xxxxxxx (xxx) are his brothers. When Fred found out that he had been talking with people in his home village of Karagwe and asking them the truth about Hisani, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and xxxxx was sent to prison. On the day of court, no one stood up to defend xxxxx because the family made a perimeter around the court house warning people not to help him. Dawn is now in Karagwe (the village where he was arrested) trying to clear him of the charges. Already Fred has had her arrested by the local immigration there and her husband arrested by the military. Theyl continue to try to get xxxxx out of prison, but unfortunately as most of you know, money talks in Tanzania and he has A LOT of money now.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx children that are being threatened by Frednand. This man is capable of much more than I ever imagined. He has threatened the lives of employees and he keeps a loaded handgun in his vehicle.

So how can you help?

First - Please do not send any more money or volunteers to Hisani.

Second - If you have any information about these matters send me an email so that I can submit as many testimonies as possible to the authorities.

Third - If you believe in God or any power that can be useful - PRAY!

Fourth - If you want to help the kids I can arrange for sponsorships xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The money will go directly to their schools and the children will be given your contact information so that they can update you on their studies.

Fifth- Pass this on! To anyone who has been to Hisani, anyone going to Hisani, anyone that has heard of Hisani. The more people who know the better. Some of the major contributors to the Hisani budget are still refusing to pull their financial support. If you know anyone still sending money, let them know what is really going on. This problem is much bigger than us and we need anyone who is willing to come forward and help. The children are suffering now more than ever. Three employees quit or were fired this week and there is only Grace caring for them.

I think it would be very helpful to have an international child's rights organization involved and get some international media attention to let the world know what is going on. Fred has the local government, police and immigration in his pocket. We need to go national and international to get anything done.

******************UPDATE****************************** Febuary 08, 2011

Dawn and her husband Issack managed to get xxxxx out of prison; his second court case is still pending. Dawn arranged a media interview for xxxxx to help spread the word. Fred showed up near Dawns house with a loaded gun and ordered the journalist interviewing xxxx into his truck. He fired the gun into the ground near the man's motorcycle. I do not know what happened next but I know that on ITV news last night they announced that the Director of Hisani orphanage tried to shoot one of their reporters. Also Fred was arrested last night. I do not know what the charges were or if he is out yet. Dawn has compiled a list of children at Hisani and Lukobe orphanages. The list shows the family relations to Fred, which children are siblings and which children have parents.

*************************Update************* Feb 13, 2011

On the night of the gun fire incident, ITV reported that the Director of an orphanage shot at one of their reporters. The story was not followed up, as Fred has given the reporter 1.2 million shillings not to pursue the matter.

While xxxxxx and his brother were staying with Dawn in Mwanza, Fred sent some of the older children of Hisani to intimidate them. They carried sticks and threatened them. Dawn made sure that both boys had an escort at all times. The boys are now xxxxxxxxxxxx out of harm’s way. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx