It has not been the best few days for the giving society. Three of the UK's largest charities are embroiled in a surfacing scandal, that will no doubt gather momentum over the coming weeks. The Red Cross, Christian Aid, and most glaringly Oxfam, have been caught in the headlights of scandal!
Charities.
Most have two main ways of raising revenue; if they are large enough they can gather millions from the Government - gleaned from your taxes of course, - or from appeal, whether it be from online/tv/radio/street collections, or the lucrative shops that replaced our idea of what the High-Street should be.
Charities have been a cultural staple for centuries, most carrying out their remit to help that less fortunate than others, no matter colour, religion or creed. Sadly there is a black and very dark underbelly to some charities, being almost like secret societies, where least said, soonest mended. It also appears that double standards abound, as one of the heads of UNICEF has been arrested for child rape, the very thing he was engaged to stamp out.
Haiti.
It has been revealed in the past few days that during the of 2011, a scene of quite Biblical devastation, some of the victims - some allegedly underage - were hired by those sent to help as prostitutes. It appears also that many Charities are a hotbed where a culture of bullying, intimidation, and racism is rife, and monies used far from the purposes they were originally intended for; never mind a complete breach of trust and professional ethics, which does not improve things even after the deputy CEO of Oxfam, Penny Lawrence resigned.
What makes the matter worse that it now appears that a number of charities- not all - have a revolving door policy of employment, where if you are sacked from one organization you can gain employment by another, with no recourse to your past professional behaviour.
Up until the middle of the last century, the UK was a hub of industry and technology, the envy of the world, after that manufacturing declined and we became famous for selling insurance policies to each other.
Since the Millennium our high streets have become havens to Charity Shops, re-cycling our unused detritus for the benefit of those far less fortunate. A question must be posed, where is the publics hard earned money going, for if that simple bond of trust is being abused we are all the losers?
We have all learned that the United Nations have no real purpose, perhaps it is about time we turned that spotlight on our charities - which appear like the UN to be purely for the benefit of the members?
