Sharon O’Driscoll, chief executive of Helping Hands in Ireland, this week defended her agencies use of funds and the process by which monies are distributed in Vietnam.
According to the article,
Parents who have adopted from Vietnam in recent years paid $11,100 to Helping Hands. Of that, $9,000 was paid as ”humanitarian aid” to regional authorities in Vietnam.
O’Driscoll acknowledged that Helping Hands had not always lodged that humanitarian aid to identifiable bank accounts.
About $3 million has been paid out in total and sizeable sums – she was unable to disclose the precise amounts – were paid over in cash. Helping Hands did not receive audited accounts from the Vietnamese.
”It’s just the way things are done,” O’Driscoll said.
To read the whole article click here.
2 Responses
It’s just the way things are done,†O’Driscoll said. Wow, is that lady for real ? €3 million in fees paid out and nothing accounted for. Wasn’t that the reason someone blew the whilstle on My Linh Soland ? Huge sums of cash going awol. What did they do with €3 million. Some of the orphanages Irish couples adopt from are asking for clothes and donations, very sad indeed. Stealing from the mouths of babes.
[…] A previous posting by VVAI in October of 2009 about the investigation of Helping Hands can be found here. […]