DRH Norway college (One World Volunteer Institute)
UFF used clothes business
Commercial hotel
Under revision
The Teachers Group operates several connected enterprises in Norway: the supposedly humanitarian used clothes business UFF and the ‘volunteering’ college DRH Norway at Hornsjoe, near Lillehammer, together with a commercial ski hotel in the same building. Students from all over the world are attracted to the ‘college’ where they are used as unpaid labour in the clothes company and the hotel. We have many complaints from about this.
UFF Norway claims no connection with the Tvind Teachers Group in Denmark, but this is easily shown to be false. UFF Norway is part of the Humana Federation and transfers large sums to Humana bank accounts in Switzerland. Clothes donated to UFF in Norway are transferred to a Tvind company in Bulgaria and many are sold for a profit throughout eastern Europe.
NEWS
DRH Norway volunteer killed in car crash collecting clothes - February 2010
On the night of 14th February 2010 a young Czech student at DRH Norway was killed in a car crash at Rennebu near Trondheim, while collecting clothes for UFF Norway. Other students have claimed that the college-owned vehicle in which 20 year old Milan Konkol was travelling was unroadworthy, and that the college tried to cover up the accident. Full story to come.
‘DRH NORWAY
Den Reisende Hogskole
Formerly ‘One World Volunteer Institute’
Hornsjoe, near Lillehammer
This Teachers group-run ‘DRH College” has operated since around 1978. Students from all over the world (particularly Brazil, Portugal and Korea) are attracted to enrol with promises of training as ‘development instructors’, with subsequent periods as volunteers in Humana’s own ‘projects’ in Mozambique, Zambia and India, for which they have to pay. We have received many complaints from ex students about the cult-like culture at the college, poor facilities, and about students being used as virtual slave labour working at the attached ski-hotel and collecting clothes for UFF Norway.
THE HORNSJOE HOTEL
Hornsjø Høyfjellshotell, Postbox 394, 2602 Lillehammer
The ‘ski-hotel’ on the same site as the One World College is owned by the Teachers Group. Students at DRH Norway are frequently required to work at the hotel unpaid as cleaners and plate-washers as part of their ‘course’. The hotel is sometimes used for ‘ski holidays’ for children from ‘Tvind’ schools. The hotel contact is Gert Olsen, the college head teacher.
The hotel rent scam
According to information sent to us, the hotel is owned by Faelleseje, the central Danish financial trust that owns many Teachers Group properties. We understand the DRH Norway college pays ‘rent’ to the hotel, which in turn pays ‘rent’ to Faelleseje – so both school and hotel are contributing large amounts of money to the Teachers Group in Denmark. This is one of the far from transparent ‘expenses’ that volunteers in Norway collect money for, although they are told they are ‘fundraising for Africa’.
On established form, we believe it is likely that much of this money then passes through the books into one of the Teachers Group’s foreign tax haven bank accounts. We would like more research on this. We are preparing a file on on The School Buildings Scam to cover examples of this financial scheme worldwide.
USED CLOTHES BUSINESS
UFF NORWAY
UFF (U-landshjelp fra Folk til Folk i Norge), started 1979.
According to recent information UFF Norway has placed nearly 500 clothes drop-in boxes in 170 Norwegian municipalities throughout the country, and also runs three second hand clothes shops in Oslo. Most clothes donated to UFF are shipped to Bulgaria and sold in eastern Europe.
UFF Norway and the Swiss bank accounts
UFF Norway is a member of the Swiss-based Humana Federation and pays a significant proportion of its income as a ‘membership fee’ into a Swiss bank account. (The Federation for the Associations Connected to the International Humana People-to-People Movement, Geneva)
The Bulgarian connection
According to its accounts and public statements, UFF Norway has a connection with sister Humana companies in Bulgaria, where most clothes donated in Scandinavia are currently sorted for onward sale. Investigation suggests this arrangement may help to create a profitable trade in used clothes once the garments have left Norway, with most clothes ending up in second hand shops in Romania and elsewhere in eastern Europe.
UFF Norway and EC Trading Ltd
UFF Norway was one of the ‘victims’ when a Teachers Group used clothing company in Holland, EC Trading, suddenly went bankrupt in 2000. Virtually all the ‘customers’ were Teachers Group clothes charities like UFF, and the bankruptcy meant the money they were ‘owed’ disappeared, (possibly to the Teachers Group’s own bank accounts?) Dutch authorities mounted an investigation. See our files The Sudden Bankruptcy of EC Trading and Hot Money: Laundering Used Clothes in Europe.
Other companies
Former Travelling Folk High School in Halden, nearOslo (closed 1983)
The Norwegian Department of Education (KUD) withdrew the licence of a ‘Travelling Folk High School’ operated by the Teachers Group near Oslo in 1982-3. Jens Oen of KUD told Danish television there were several reasons why: “The teaching was not good enough and the security – both physically, when travelling, and economic security – was not good enough.” In the course of two years, Norwegian embassies had reported 62 incidents of Tvind students travelling abroad, needing some kind of help. [Source: Leiv Gunnar Lie]
One World Channel As
A Norwegian company set up by Teachers group member Oyvind Wistrom in the 1990s, allegedly to produce ‘TV documentaries’, but investigated by Danish police as a likely front for money laundering as part of 2002-2006 fraud trial. This company is cited in the Danish Police investigation.
WITNESS – YOUR STORIES
Marco’s story: (March 2008) A Portuguese volunteer at DRH Norway 2008, who makes serious allegations of having to work for free in the hotel in order to ‘pay’ DRH the €9,000 school fees, but receiving no receipts for hours spent working and no accounts for social security, rent or food…..’a virtual money sytem’. Has complained to police and contacted media. Interview published in Portuguese newspaper “Correio da Manha”. According to Humana drivers in Norway, good quality clothes collected by Humana in Norway are sent to Lithuania to be relabelled with Gucci and Armani branding and then sold for big prices in Africa and Brazil….true?
Franz’s story (2002) Austrian student, left the school with several others after refusing to fundraise, some of the students were treated ‘worse than animals’.
‘Someone’ from Poland writes: (2002) I am participant with TCE program in One World Volunteer Institute in Norway. Recently, I have discovered the dark side of my school.Despite I would like to stay there a little bit longer to learn more about their manipulation & psychological abusing methods. I’ve read in today’s Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza an articul written by Magdalena Grzebalkowska titled “The boss’ settled in paradise” which describes TVIND as a sect. I am interested in writing a sequel of this story. SOMEONE.
tvindstudent@hotmail.com writes: (2002) The school I’m at [DRH Norway] represents some of the worst in humans. It exploits people on every school, in every country it is to be found. After 3 months at this school, I can not belive that this is legal. This should be shut down.
Joao’s story (2002, in Portuguese). Summary: Portuguese boy Joâo Albergaria, travelled in April 1996 to Norway, paying before 2500 euros to learn in the school… months later, he realised something was “wrong”: they had to fundraise 6000 euros for six months, the brainwashing was always present and there was a “war” between teachers and volunteers there. Joâo also says “time, work and money” was common for volunteers in this organisation, that is, no private property, no freedom. In contrast,Teachers earned 4200 euros in a month for “nothing”. He finally wrote a letter to Danish government, explaining this situation: Humana is a cult.
Viera’s story: (Slovakian who was at DRH Norway around 2002): ‘What is pretty strange: PEOPLE FROM MY TEAM WANTED TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH A GUY WHO WAS A DIRECTOR OF TRAVELLING HIGH FOLK SCHOLL IN NORWAY TO ASK HIM: WHERE DO THE MONEY GO? HE WAS ILL ALL THE TIME OR TOO WEAK TO HJAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH PEOPLE FROM MY TEAM. IS IT STRANGE, IS NOT IT? IS IT JUST A COINCIDENCE ? Teachers , namely, Dalila (from Czech rep) and Jorgen (from Norway) do not like people who are very critical or like to complain. Just coincidence or what kind of attitude is it that? On other hand, they should not be called teachers at all, cause they teach just nothing. Voluunteer has to work so much from my own experience that he or she does not have a time at all to study. Teacher they do not teach, it s all mostly based on self studying.’
Richard writes: (2002) I was a ‘participant’ at the Hornsjo school in Norway and had quite a rough ride there, though I put a certain amount of this down to my own personal circumstances. I did the six months program and then went to Mozambique, and then left after 1 month (I actually never wanted to go to the project I was sent to – but there was never an option for me to make a real choice about what I did on the projects, so I left. There’s more to it than that of course….I left the whole scenario doubting my own judgement about various things, so it has been quite re-assurring to recieve your mailings.
Guestbook posting: Hi to all. I’ve been in the norwegian school in hornsjo some years ago. the way tvind is earning the money is clear. students pay for all expenses that the so called “probably best school in the world” (the headmaster) has. then, a lot of their time the students spend by selling post cards. the money they earn goes go tvind. there is no real teaching on this mountain there. most of the day students teaching theirselves. you learn nothing what you really need in africa to help. if you ask where the money goes to, you always here the same: to humana people to people. but where does it go then. well … back to tvind. that’s what I found out after leaving that place there. I made researches in different places such as banks, universities and so on.
A. D. writes: (Hornsjoe 2001) “As an ex-solidarity worker you can imagine my feelings when I finally found the much fabled anti-Humana website. I am now finished with the organisation, I spent 6 months in Africa and came back with all the frustrations many have from working on a project which blantantly has no resource base to support it. For me the time in Norway was hard and like most groups we had our revolution whereby we confronted the teachers on our feelings of being exploited and me being one of the more mouthy members recieved an earful of excuses for what were at the point numerous rumours about foul play in the organisation……”
NetUp and UFF Norway. – C’s story (2001-2) NetUp was a Humana scam whereby student volunteers worked for free in Humana/UFF shops and sorting clothes in Europe to ‘pay’ school fees – the money was supposed to be transferred from shops to schools. ‘C’ from Germany worked as a NetUp volunteer at the UFF sorting centre in Klofta, Norway for some months with no pay. Unfortunately it appears Humana never recorded the correct payment due to the school and did not declare it to the tax authorities – C was pursued for the money. NetUp no longer exists but similar ‘work-for-nothing’ scams are still operated by Humana.
Dan Lindbergh’s story. (1990s) Norwegian volunteer at One World Volunteer Institute who decided to quit. Very detailed account of the school.
Anonymous ex TG member’s story (Posted on the www.tvindalert.com Guestbook in 2001. Ex-Teachers Group, former student at DRH Norway) “I had come to disagree with almost everything the Teachers Group stands for, but I found that there was no way for me to change anything. I left empty-handed with only the clothes that I wore. Later on I have realized I was exactly the kind of person cults like Tvind go for. I was young and alone, I was insecure but hardworking, intelligent but inexperienced. I also had a strong desire to help people and a keen sense of the injustice of our world. Ergo : I was easy prey.”
Annelie Karlqvist’s story (2000) Norwegian volunteer who was ‘rescued’ from the CICD college in the UK. Her story was covered in The Times newspaper, London.
Jodie’s story (One World Volunteer Institute, Norway, 2000) “I joined the One World Volunteer Organization in 2000 after visiting a Planet Aid school in Michigan. After making what I thought would be a life-changing experience, I made my way to the hogskole in Norway close to Lillehammer…..It turned out to be a nightmare. Our entire team left the school, but had to fight tooth and nail to get our tuition fees back”
Bob Nelson’s story (published in The Times, 2000). “After ringing the telephone number in the advert, Mr Nelson was invited to Denmark for an ‘information weekend’ which he described as very exciting. He was promised training followed by experience of an aid project in Africa. Because he could not afford the £2,000 advance fee, he agreed to work as a volunteer for three months at a UFF clothes sorting centre in Norway in order to defray the costs. Once there he found he was expected to work up to 16 hours a day, sometimes starting at 7.30am and continuing until 10 or 11 at night, in return for living expenses of £30 a week. When he demurred his boss, Jesper Petersson, shouted and stormed at him. ‘He was a workaholic and wouldn’t accept any criticism. The place was in chaos and we were always given more work than we could cope with, but there was no reasoning with him.”
Gustav Ljunggren’s story. (1999) Volunteer at DRH Norway. ‘I’m still wondering sometimes why we stuck it. Two people quit. A few of us thought about quitting at least once a day.’
Samantha’s story: (1995 – sent in 2005) ‘Another bad experience…’ Story of fundraising in Norway before going to India.
Amanda’s story (Norwegian member of the Teachers Group 1994-1998). ‘It took me two years to be able to write this. I haven’t been able to deal with all the emotions since I drove off the hill at IICD, Williamstown in the summer of 1998. I just did not want to talk about it or think about it…..I denied I had been in a cult or had in any form been “brainwashed”. I know better now – after a little time and distance…..When I look back on what I did as part of this movement, I am not proud; I was in the end well aware that we were lying to our students at the schools and even helping them only tell half-truths …. I was part of cheating the authorities in any way we could get away with, and we fooled the public …. We were deceitful in almost all aspects of our operations.” ‘Amanda’ is a pseudonym.
Hanne’s story. Hanne Marit Otterbech, 23, of Stavanger, went to a Norwegian Court after having been with the Tvind school at Hornsjo near Lillehammer, claiming the stay had caused her serious damage to her health. Some 20 other ex-students backed Hanne Marit in court, testifying that the schools broke down students psychologically. She lost the case, but because of great doubt the school was ordered to pay all expenses. This is a very rare ruling in Norwegian courts. (Source: Leiv Gunnar Lie)
Kine’s story (Norwegian pupil at Tvind school for troubled children, Denmark, 1990s). Allegations of abuse.
Frank Karlsen writes: (Hornsjoe 1990s) “Jon Nordmo was a great man with a lot of humor. A man who was a free speaker in an intelligent way. Maby too much for some of the TG and the students because he always spoke the truth. His woman got pregnent and two of them was prepeard to leave TVIND and raise their child. Before that he was given a dog as a gift from the TG (its well known that the TG gives a dog to those who has been couples for a time in a way to secure them longer within the system without getting children). But anyway Jon decided to do things on his own way and moved to Hamar and started as a teacher in a public school I heard afterwards. After his [sudden] resignation the other TG’s named Thomas to be the new headmaster of DRH Norway and a lot of the students left the school over what have happend. The classic style from the TG was to pretend as nothing has happened and try to continue as normal.”
Anne Ellingsen (Norwegian volunteer, Denmark and India 1982-3). Conference paper ‘This is the Tvind Sect’ (1993)
In February 1983, the Tvind training ship ‘Activ’ was lost in a storm off Dover and eight young members of the Teachers Group were drowned. Among the dead was a young Norwegian girl, Kristin Skagemo. The Teachers Group, which owned the vessel, took no responsibility for the accident, and even forwarded the bill for recovery and repatriation of her body to her family.
There were allegations that the vessel was ‘ramshackle’ and poorly maintained, and the young volunteers (average age 22) were inexperienced sailors. One senior Teacher, Carsten Ringsmose, resigned from the Teachers Group in protest.
The Activ story
NEWS REPORTS
Portuguese newspaper “Correio da Manha” (March 12, 2008) Interview with Portuguese volunteer Marco Semiao who went to DRH Norway. See also Marco’s story.
“The youngster travelled to Hornsjo in February as a volunteer for NGO Den Reisende Hogskole (DRH) Norway in Africa, but at the end he was working 12 hours a day in a hotel – cleaning rooms and washing plates. He was misled by the NGO and denounced it to Correio da Manha. “The masters of the project knew about my complaint and bought me a ticket Oslo-London-Porto, they want to get rid of me”, told Marco by e-mail. The Portuguese promesses to present proofs of DRH illegal activities. According to him the NGO uses volunteers recruited in Portugal as free workers. The Portuguese Platform for NGOD (NGO’s for cooperation and development) confirms the existence of judiciary cases against DRH. “Problems concerning this NGO are well known in Portugal”, said Sophie Robin, director of the Platform.”
News report: (2003 or 2004) NorWatch, a group mapping Norwegian business practices in low cost countries, expresses strong concern over UFF Norway and DAPP operations in Malawi.
Norwegian news report: (2003 or 2004) Norway’s main trade union (LO) has advised against donating used clothes to Tvind (locally known as UFF) because these clothes from Europe were ‘breaking the back of the textile and ready-made clothing industry in Africa’s poor countries.’
Eindhovens Dagblad, Holland (2002): The Secret Humana Empire in Discredit, Rags as a Goldmine. ‘Former volunteers have complained in the press about ‘psychological terror’ being practised on them. Also they tell about chaos on the Tvind-schools, where they have to clean, but don’t receive any noticeable education. Comparable experiences had a young, twenty year old Slovakian woman who lives now in Eindhoven and wants to stay anonymous because she’s afraid of retaliation. She was supposed to receive an education as development worker for Africa in Hornsjo in Norway after a meeting at Tvind in Denmark. She signed a contract in which was written that she had to work to pay back her wage – which she only got on paper – and fundraise. Also she had to work to pay the costs of education back – 3400 euro- and thousands of euro for her stay in the school. ‘But there was no education whatsoever’, the young Slovakian woman tells, still looking rather upset. In front of her on the table is a postcard from the hotel in which she worked in Hornsjo (near Lillehammer). ‘We had to work from the early morning till late in the evening in the ski-hotel of Tvind. Whenever I got tired and had epileptic attacks, one of the teachers shouted at me that I had to work. I was scared to death. After some time with some other volunteers I concluded that nothing was fulfilled from what was promised. Humana misuses young people and their idealism for its own gain.’
Adresseavisen (1983)
Couple from Norway who lost their daughter in the 1983 Activ disaster – “Don’t trust the Tvind movement”. In a report on a broadcast by ‘Antenne 10′, the parents of Kristin Skagemo, killed in the Activ disaster, appealed to young Norwegians to stay away from Tvind. “Kristin wanted for a period to get out of the movement, but she was never let alone. The telephone was ringing all the time. As the idealist she was, Kristin was at last persuaded to come back. She was not allowed to have a boyfriend. Everything that could make her think about other things than the ideas of the school was forbidden.”
‘Antenne 10′ (1983)
Norwegian broadcast. In the same programme, it was also said that the money Tvind and UFF have collected don’t end up in the Third World, but for luxury houses, shipping companies and companies.
WHO’S WHO IN THE TEACHERS GROUP IN NORWAY
Gert Olsen – principal of DRH Norway college. And Sissel, his partner.
Sidsel Larsen – promotions manager <sidsel@oneworldvolunteers.org>
Jon Nordmo – previous college head, resigned and left TG in 1990s
Jesper Pedersen – chair of UFF Norway in 2001.
Rosa Marielle Fried – vice chair of UFF Norway in 2001
Sigrid Kristina Johansson – board member, UFF Norway, 2001
Trond Narvestad – former chairman, Humana UFF Norway, and chairman of UFF Sweden, now on board of DAPP UK
Tone Kvaestad: Norwegian TG member who worked in TG clothing businesses in Morocco 1990-2004, now possibly back in Norway.
Oyvind Wistrom: A former negotiator for Faelleseje, set up Norwegian company One World Channel, allegedly as part of a TV station, but investigated by Danish police as possible front company for money transfer. Was a member of council of UK school Red House when it was closed by UK authorities.
Sten Byrner Danish, but associated with Norwegian company One World Channel. Pleaded guilty to financial misdemeanour in 2002-6 Danish trial. Currently fugitive.
Kirsten Fuglsbjerg – wanted by Danish police – is said by one contact to have been ‘expelled’ from Norway in 1983.
Tomas Lindstrom – formerly on Norway school staff, then started CCTG in California, now probably in New Zealand.
Jostein (or Joe) Pedersen – Norwegian Teachers group member connected to UFF Norway for several years, now with Planet Aid in USA.
NORWEGIAN MOVEMENT AGAINST TVIND
NORWEGIAN ANTI-CULT GROUPS
Seeking information
IS THERE OFFICIAL SUPPORT FOR UFF NORWAY?
Norad – the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation
Seeking information
Save the Children (Norway). A contact writes: Listed as a major partner on ADPP’s website for one of its Teacher Training Schools in in Sofala province in Mozambique …. (the quality of which can not be evaluated because there is no mechanism in place for this), yet it in the end pulled out of putting several aspiring teachers in ADPP’s school because when it discovered that SAVE was behind the referral, ADPP tried to assess fees of 2000 USD per year per student.
KEY DOCUMENTS
Leiv Gunnar Lie’s journalism MA thesis on Tvind (1994) Leiv Gunnar Lie studied journalism at City University in London in 1994 and wrote a 13,500-word MA thesis on Tvind. He is now a journalist with Dagbladet in Norway.
‘This is the Tvind Sect’ (1993) – this was a paper by Anne Ellingsen of the Norwegian Movement Against Tvind given to a conference in 1993. Anne Ellingsen was a Norwegian volunteer with Tvind in India in 1982-3. The Movement Against Tvind no longer exists and Anne Ellingsen has retired from research on Tvind.
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Last revised 21st October 2010
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