WITNESS
IICD Michigan, TCE, DAPP and Humana in Zambia
June 2009
by Leah, USA
Hello.
I just returned home from Zambia, from the project TCE DAPP under Humana People to People. I would like to support you in what you are doing to bring down this horrible organization.
I fundraised the money. I and all of my other 11 team mates did that illegally. They had visitor visa or tourism visa, and we never had permits to fundraise in the places we went. They worked in the clothes collection (planet aid) and were paid for that. Some worked in promotions for IICD and were paid for that as well. Very against United States Laws.
I have also heard rumors for other “DI’s” that there is a wood factory, where they burn off “Made in China” and brand on “Made in USA”….
I hate this whole organization. They do nothing for the people they profess to help. I got to Zambia and they had nothing for me to do…so I went out and taught in schools. They had no money to support me in my projects and no money to help the people working in their TCE project. Although they had just been given large amounts of money from the CDC, World Vision, the US government and unicef. If there is any thing I can do to help bring them down, to court or get them out of the US. Please let me know.
I am American. I live in Utah, but I “trained” at the IICD school in Massachusetts I would feel fine if you used my email and first name.
On my team in Mass, there were 4 Japanese and 6 Brazilians…they all had visas that let them into the US as visitors, tourists…not workers and fundraisers. This is how it is with all 3 schools in the US and for all non-US students.
I will look into the wood factory, but the girl I was talking to said it was some where in Michigan, and look into what happened to the money given..about a week I left UNICEF gave $200,000 in support of Prevention of Mother to Child transmission and the support groups. I know it did not go to that purpose. They have been given none of that money.
Also the CDC supports them and makes visits. To receive the support each field officer has to test 25 people for HIV each week. I know that goal has never been met, so I don’t know what they are doing to keep on receiving money from the CDC.
Please understand that I loved my time in Zambia and I really liked working with the TCE Field officers. They do an amazing job and work so hard, they only have a 1/2 a day off each week and 1 full day every other week, it is Humana that I have a huge problem with. The field officers were given no support and had huge demands on them that could not be met, and the ”office”, or the management of TCE did very little….they made the project look good and got it more money.
All they care about in money and using people to get more money. The people that worked at the TCE office were some of the richest people I met in the town I lived in. The project just bought a car and it has two motorcycles. Wireless internet and each person has a laptop or desk computer. The office people take taxies into town which is a 5 min walk….they throw away money on stupid things.
They have money you can see it. It is just not being spent they way they say they are going to spend it. Like I said, when I got there they had nothing for me to do. They wanted me to type and take photos, and promote the project. But I refused to do that, that was not the reason I went, and not what IICD told me I was going to be doing. So I worked with the field officers and did things myself. But I know many field officers that all they did was sit and do nothing or took photos or made movies that promoted the project.
I kept a blog while I was there and I don’t know how he found it but my project leader had been reading it, and the day that I left he told me to promote the TCE project so more people would come.
Please feel free to use anything I write, but I do ask that you don’t use any profanity, harsh language or exaggerate. Please keep the tone of what I am saying. I do not regret my time in Zambia, I do regret how I got there and that I was a tool for this horrible organization.
Thank you so much,
Leah
Email: lilyseyes3@msn.com
