All of a sudden a need has arisen to write on something which badly needs attention. I will make a request before you read this article. Please write comments. It’s the need of the hour for this blog. And also do forward this to your friends so that something can be done.
Let me begin what I want to convey. India is home to crores of people who live below poverty line and there are lot of NGO’s working for the upliftment of them in their own way. There are lot of very good NGO’s which are professionally managed and have made a mark in their quest towards reaching the goals. Similarly there are tons of corrupt NGOs whose sole objective is to make money in the name of uplifting people.
I have come across an NGO which to the outer world is doing a great job but internally they are making crores of rupees using someone’s name. I am going to write about the corrupt practices followed in making money.
The NGO raises huge sums of money from the corporate world, especially IT companies in the name of kids and nobody gets to know how much was spent from the amount received. IT companies as part of their social commitments as well as for tax savings purpose dole out huge sums of money to them and they hardly make verification on the expenses in this regard. Let me cite a few instances of this corrupt practice.
They say that the organization has 40 employees. And they are paying an average salary of 20000 per month which amounts to Rs 8 lak per month and 96 lakhs per year. They get the money and they give 50% of it to employees and rest goes for personal expenses.
They quote a figure of Rs 24000 per year for maintenance of a boy or girl. They have around 300 kids. It amounts to 72 lakh per year. And the amount they actually spend on them is a pittance. Kids have to take bath in cold water early morning. The things (books, clothes, watches…) which are given to students by philanthropists are again sold to these kids by asking them to pay some money for the same.
These kids are talented and they regularly take part in shows organized by different groups. A sum of Rs 20000 to Rs 40000 per show is charged as fee and the kids who perform get a paltry 250Rs per head.
One of the employees of the organization who is highly talented despite having physical disabilities gets around Rs 30000 per month from a UN organization. The NGO doesn’t give the money to him and pays him a salary of Rs 6000 per month for having him employed.
One of the fund raisers for the organization approached a corporate entity. She was asked to give the accounts for last year’s contribution which they had made in lakhs. When the fund raiser asked expenditure report from the higher ups in the NGO she was forced to quit.
One of the trustees leads the life of a king. He has spent 2 lak for 2 days in a hospital for his wife for a very trivial reason. One trustee resides abroad and actively campaigns there to raise crores of rupees for the NGO. All of them own big houses at posh locations.
And these guys are all powerful. They have links with all the top politicians. If someone threatens to expose them they have solid underworld connections to ensure that the matter is dead and buried. The employees fear revolting for the same reason. The driver of a trustee was hacked to death under the guise of accident.
The NGO is neither growing nor shrinking. If it grows then it leads to public scrutiny and they fear this. If it shrinks they will not be able to get enough money. They ensure it remains afloat which suits them perfectly to make more money.
Friends I want you all to do me a favor. Suggest ways to expose this massive nature of corruption in the name of the underprivileged.
I have thought a few but want to know your opinion. Initially thought of conveying it to the print media but felt that they might capitalize on this rather than expose the corruption. But the options are open where in a credible media guy can do a good job of exposing this but how to find a credible guy.
Another option is to somehow managing to get the names of corporate world and philanthropists who have contributed handsomely to this NGO. Write a detailed letter to all asking them to ascertain whether the funds are properly utilized for what they are meant to.
I am not naming the NGO in this article as it might put the future of many genuine people working over there at stake. But certainly want to ensure that the people who are running this are held accountable.
I once again request one and all to convey their opinions to tackle this menace. Pass it on to your friends so that something can be done to make the NGO more accountable. Am just referring to one NGO but there are countless such corrupt NGOs. I do not want to generalize all of them as bad but do enquire about what they are into before you decide to contribute. I sincerely hope that through your opinions we all can do something fruitful to stop this imperil. It’s over to you all. You can place comments next to the title of the blog by clicking the numeral.
