Humana People-to-People Alert in the US

Older information

Italy

Tvind assets: used clothes, sorting, recruitment

Readers write:

Paola writes

Hi! I'm a young italian girl, my name's Paola and I'm studying at University in Milan.The last week of september I was reading a famous newspaper "La Repubblica" and there I found the ad of an organisation looking for volounteers...I think you know the story!Then the meeting was on october the 12th in Pogliano milanese and there I met Joan Balsen,a man who performed an interesting theathre play about going in another country to feel ourselves more special...I think you know something about this story too!Then I came back home and surfing on the net I...I couldn' t believe what I was reading! This is really, really a BAD story.So I REALLY want to thank you for the informations you give... but I'm so ANGRY...and if I couldn' t surf the web?And if I didn' t understand english so well? Why influential newspapers keep on giving the chance to survive to these awful people?Now my problem is: I want to do something to stop this shit.Do you know if it is possible for me to do something useful?

If you could put me in contact with other italian people with the same mine experience it would be nice.It would be much better if you know some italians who have already tried ALL the experience with humana, maybe going to Africa, or even just in CICD or something like this.In this case we could form a group and write some letters to send: to the newspaper of course, but even to NGOs, forum about cooperation like "one world"... I would just know if, among the people who works in cooperation or similar, this organisation is recognized as dangerous or not. I am surprised that these people, who are wherever in the world, and know generally a lot of things about wrong ways of cooperation and development projects (organisation who work better and other that work in a wrong way), didn' t offer any statement to your site.Don' t you think it is quite strange?So put me in contact with others and let's see what we can do!

PS: There's a link on your site that doesn' t work; it's in the FAQ and talk about organisations (more serious than humana...) where people like me could try to ask to have a safe experience in other countries like in Third World.I' m a student of pedagogy,I find some problems to do it.That's because is more frequent to find advertisements about doctors,engineers or something like this.Could you tell me what were written on that page?

Thanks, Paola.
Oct 2003

Maurizio writes:

Hi Michael, I don't know exactly what you want to know about me, but I'll give you some hint of what my life looks like.     I'm as anybody else who wanted to leave for a while the reality to join a program with Humana abroad. I found a newspaper in a pub I'm used to go to. I found it very interesting, the dream of someone's life. To help someone in Africa, attending a previous course in Norway, meeting a lot of new people. I opened the Italian web site and I started to search through DRH programs and all that stuff and I was amazed. I just loved it.    I talked to my parents and I went to an introductive meeting.   I found a lot of people coming from different realities.    Mine was just like : a good job, a house I rented, friends.
During the meeting I found some strange things in the program, they told us there's a period of big confusion after all the school and the period in Africa. No one really understood. Anyway all the kids started talking t them about "scolarship" and the way to arrange the money. I went home after booking a private meeting with them.   When I went home my uncle fortunately found out your web site and my
dream suddenly disappeared.   That's all so far.   I'm know in touch with a Social Centre that is trying hopefully to pubblicize the thing to kids.   well, let me know. You surely know the best way togo through this.   Kind regards

Maurizio
2003

Companies

Humana People to People Italia (1998)

Piccola Societa' Cooperativa a Responsabilita' Limitata ("Small Co-operative with Limited Liability").. Address: Via Aldo Moro 5 - 20010 Pogliano Milanese (province of Milano), telephone 02-9396401. More information

Humana People to People Italia

Status: Piccola Societa' Cooperativa a Responsabilita' Limitata ("Small Co-operative with Limited Liability").

Officially established on November 16, 1998

Office: Via Aldo Moro 5 - 20010 Pogliano Milanese (province of Milano), telephone 02-9396401.

The Coop had 13 employees in 2000 (vs. the 22 or 30 they claim on their websites. Are they lying somewhere or are they growing so fast?). Employees are different from members, they are like normal workers, employed by the members.

The Articles of Association of the Coop establish that Humana does the usual business (collecting clothes, improving social conditions, aid to poor countries), but there is an interesting clause: The Coop can "promote the spirit of saving of its members, setting up a section of activities, governed by specific regulations, in order to gather loans from members only, and only in order to perform the purposes of the cooperative. It is strictly forbidden to gather loans from the public."

This is probably a Teachers' association policy: the members pool their resources as "loans". However, it only refers to *members*, not to the *employees*.

The whole coop consists of only 3 people, an incredibly small figure. All three are foreigners, one even lives abroad (in Austria) and the other two have the same address (in Italy):

Ulla Carina Bolin, born in Sollentuna, Sweden, July 19, 1957, tax code
BLNLCR57L59Z132R, resident in Piazza dello Sport 3 - 20020 Arese (province
of Milano). Chairman of the Board.

Helle Christensen, born in Grove, Denmark, November 15, 1954. Tax code
CHRHLL54S5Z107B, resident in Vienna, Austria, in Gregorygasse. Deputy
Chairman.

Eduardus Willem Mattheus Fonck, born in Amsterdam, Holland, April 23, 1696.
Tax code FNCDDS69D23Z126L, resident in Piazza dello Sport 3 - 20020 Arese (province of Milano). Councilor.

The organization has the following premises, all registered as "store houses" (depositi):

1) Via S. Maria Crocifissa di Rosa - 25039 Travagliato (prov. of Brescia) - tel. 030-6865907, fax 030-6165386, opened Nov. 11, 1999.

2) Via Castellano 21 - 65015 - Montesilvano (prov. of Pescara) - opened February 1, 2000.

3) Via Candini 8 - 40012 - Lippo - Calderara di Reno (prov. of Bologna) - tel. 051-6466417 - fax 051-6426560 - opened Nov. 11, 1999.

4) Strada Statale 16 Sud via da denominare - 64028 Silvi (prov. of Teramo) tel. 085-4458932 - fax. 085-4458932. 3 people employed there. Opened December 1, 2000.

5) Via Ugo Foscolo 14 - Vigonza 35010 (prov. of Padova). Opened February 1, 2001.

The list looks quite different from the list which appears on their website.

(Information correct at July 2001)

Newspaper articles

Il business della beneficenza di Davide Orecchio Rassegna Lavoro, 21 June 2000

A correspondent writes:

About Humana in Italy they just started two years ago.. they have a center in Milano with a Swedish project manager and few employees for collect clothes but no volunteers, they send them to Scandinavia.. there is already a web page in Italian against them is http://philo.cnm.unive.it/filosofia/sette.html in a list with other cults and sects....

From the web site:

H HUMANA

"Humana" è il nome ufficiale dato alle attività caritative di Tvind, un'organizzazione educativa nata in Danimarca che recluta studenti universitari provenienti da tutta Europa e dall'America. Si occupa principalmente di creare scuole residenziali per giovani con problemi e di raccogliere fondi per il Terzo mondo. I potenziali insegnanti vengono sottoposti a corsi intensivi prima di essere introdotti nell'impero Tvind.

Allievi e personale sono incoraggiati a dedicare praticamente tutto il tempo libero alla raccolta di abiti usati e di denaro per il Terzo mondo, sotto l'incessante stimolo dei leader di Tvind e dell'etica di sinistra dell'organizzazione.

La Charity Commission, il comitato britannico di controllo sulle opere caritative, ha volto il suo sguardo scrutatore alle attività del movimento dopo un'inchiesta pubblicata dal Guardian nel 1993. Il giornale ha rivelato che i fondi raccolti con le collette venivano misteriosamente smistati attraverso società offshore, fondazioni dalla facciata rispettabile e investimenti immobiliari.

Sembra che Tvind, anziché donare i vestiti usati al Terzo mondo, li vendesse e che in alcune piantagioni di frutta dei Caraibi di proprietà dell'organizzazione vi erano stati scioperi di protesta per le retribuzioni. Si è anche scoperto che Tvind è proprietaria di una società armatrice e ha un capitale valutabile attorno ai 31 milioni di sterline. Dei 3,7 milioni di sterline di profitti realizzati ogni anno da Tvind nella sola Svezia, l'80 per cento veniva usato per retribuire i capi progetto e i volontari, detti "lavoratori della solidarietà": al Terzo mondo andava il 2 per cento.

L'anno scorso si è saputo che Tvind continuava a reclutare studenti dalle Università di Cambridge e di Salford. D'altra parte la Charity Commission ha detto di aver accertato che la situazione è migliorata.

Secondo il centro informazione sulle sette alcuni punti-vendita Humana sono stati chiusi nel tentativo di alleggerire le attività del movimento in Gran Bretagna. Il nome Humana è usato da svariate società senza legami con Tvind.

Motivo per aderire: probabilmente, la migliore setta del mondo.

Motivo per non aderire: la Croce rossa offre più opportunità di viaggiare.

In sintesi: il 2 per cento è sempre meglio di niente.

Rough translation:

Humana is the official name for the charity arm of Tvind, an educational organisation born in Denmark which recruits university students from all over Europe and America. It is mainly concerned with residential schools for problem children and street children in the Third World. Potential students are sent on intensive courses before being introduced to the Tvind empire.

Staff and volunteers are encouraged to dedicated practically all their free time to collecting used clothes and money for the Third World, under the constant stimulation of Tvind's leader and the organisation's left-wing ethos.

The Charity Commission, the British body which oversees charities, has looked closely at the movement's activities ever since an investigation published by the Guardian in 1993. The newspaper revealed that money collected with the clothes had mysteriously vanished into offshore bank accounts, on the face of it respectable and stable investments [?]

It seemed that Tvind, far from giving used clothes to the Third World, was selling them, and that in several fruit plantations in the Caribbean belonging to the organisation there had been strikes. It was also found that tvind owned a trust fund with a capital value of around £31m. Of the £3.7m in profits realised every year by Tvind [?] in Sweden, 80 per cent was used to finance main projects and the volunteers, named 'solidarity workers', in the Third World, got two per cent.

The following year it was discovered that Tvind continued to recruits students from the universities of Cambridge and Salford. The Charity Commission asked for guarantees that the situation would improve.

Following this information on the sect, several Humana shops were closed in an attempt to curtail the activities of the movement in Britain. The name Humana is used by various societies unofficially by Tvind [?]

Reason for belonging: probably the best cult in the world.

Reason for not joining: the Red Cross offers better opportunities for travelling.

Bottom line: two per cent is always better than nothing.

ITALY
Humana Italia,
Via Platani 16, 20024 Garbagnate Milanese (Mi), Italy
Tel: +39 2 93 55 91 20
Fax: +39 2 93 55 91 21
humana@tin.it