Riders for Health sham

Uinneag

Guest
Last year 114 motorcycles and £80,000 was given to RfH from Enduroafrica
These bikes are not in the field yet and £55,000 of the donation was used to employ another person in the UK instead of going to where it was intended.

Enduro asked how many bikes were required and they said every bike supplied would have a rider.

To this date I am led to believe no bike from last years event has gone live yet.
:nenau

Another 100 bikes will be supplied this year along with £120,000 and RfH have distanced themselves from Enduro, as far as I can see the reason being is that they have not been able to hold there side of the bargain and put the bikes to use due to bad organisation.
I have emailed them with the chassis and engine no's of the bikes I have supplied through sponsors, raffles and mates and feel I am duty bound to give answers to those that donated. Part of the deal between enduro and RfH was that the people would be kept informed of the bikes whereabouts and progress in providing health care.

At the end of this years enduro no one was thanked for there donation of 1 motorcycle and £500 from anyone from RfH and last years donation has been taken of there Website events page.
Personally I think this is a disgrace and RfH was contracted partner in the Enduro set-up

For all I know is that the bikes I have supplied via sponsors are sitting in a warehouse in Harare and RfH is still collecting and holding auctions and events like Day of Champions for cash to buy motorcycles.

As RfH have not contacted anyone regarding there bikes I can only assume that there is something they are trying to hide.


I await answers from Andrea Coleman but I am not holding my breath
 
It's a pity many charities are not as consientious as the folk like yourself who bust guts trying to help...

Fecking scandalous mind you :mad:
 
We also had issues with Riders For Health following the Scoots trip to Bansang in 2006. Money left to service the bikes for 12 months was gobbled up in 3 months with us even being charged for spares which we had supplied.

Talking to other charities it is hard to find one that has a good word to say about RFH
 
chapter & verse ...

If you feel that strong on the matter and have clear evidence, then you can report the whole matter and sorry affair to...

http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/

The Commission's powers of intervention are specifically designed for use in circumstances where there is some grave, general risk to a charity's interests and are designed principally to protect the charity and its assets. Complaints that the Commission will take up as regulator are, generally speaking, ones where there is a serious risk of significant harm or abuse to the charity, its assets, beneficiaries or reputation; where the use of our powers of intervention is necessary to protect them; and where this represents a proportionate response to the issues in the case.
We will look to complainants to show good reason, backed with evidence, for concerns that they raise with the Commission. Unless it is clearly inappropriate to them to do so, we will expect complainants to have tried first to resolve their concern directly with the charity before involving the Commission.

By "harm" we mean:
• serious detriment to the people or causes the charity serves;
• loss or misuse of significant assets or resources; and
• serious damage to the reputation of a charity or charities generally

If you have a complaint that you have been unable to resolve with the charity concerned, and think that it meets the criteria for those that we will take up please write to the Commission and provide the following information:

• the name of the charity (and its registration number if known);
• a summary of your complaint or concern, and the background to it;
• details of any assets which you believe have been misused or are at risk;
• details (or copies) of documentary evidence in support of your concerns;
• details of attempts you have made to get the charity to address your concerns;
• details of any previous correspondence or contact with us about these matters;
• details of any correspondence you may have had with the police or other public bodies about your concerns; and
• your name, address and telephone number and connection, if any, with the charity.

It is a criminal offence knowingly or recklessly to supply us with information which is false or misleading.

We will acknowledge receipt of the information.

After considering it we may also need to ask you for further details. We will then decide upon the appropriate course of action (see 31-34 of CC47) and advise you accordingly.

If you wish, we will notify you of the outcome when the case is concluded.
 
:eek

Sort of makes sense of why Bert takes the medicines straight to the door of the people who will use them.

That's shameful in the extreme - but thanks for the post Johnny. Makes a mockery of all the goodwill you generated. I take it you won't be doing it again next year?

What of EnduroAsia etc?
 
This is a disappointing bit of news.

I can understand that bikes may need to be held for a while. Whether or not a year is a reasonable period? Let’s just be polite and ‘Maybe’. Similarly, I guess I can see why RfH may need to employ someone in the UK, the funding of which has to come from somewhere. Equally, I can possibly see how double billing may occur. All in all pretty charitable of me so far…..

I think RamMan is right. A polite, tidy, letter to the Charity Commissioners may well bring results. However, I wouldn’t go there straight off. Set out your concerns in a letter (people find it much harder to ignore a letter than an email or phone call) to the CEO of RfH. If you do not hear anything, send a reminder after, say, two weeks. Keep a copy of all the correspondence.

If, after perhaps another four weeks, you have not received a satisfactory answer, write to the Commissioners, enclosing your copies. It's important that you set out your exact concerns, as clearly and briefly as possible. The Commissioners have an obligation to investigate the matter on your behalf. However, I doubt if the Commissioners can do much about simple inefficiency in a charity. That being said, they may well be able to deal quite harshly with any gross misuse of contributions.

Good luck.

PS I am glad now that I gave a wallet load of Moroccan money to Bert, instead of RfH.
 
Hi Andrea
My name is James McMaster and I donated a motorcycle and a cash during last years Enduro event and have also done the same again this year.
Could you please let me know what has happened to last years motorcycle I donated and what has happened to the cash donation that was also given.
I have sponsors to answer questions too and I am finding it very uncomfortable when I cannot answer these questions. I went to the Day of Champions at Riders request for an update and non was forthcoming.
Is last years bike in the field yet and has the cash donation been put to use.
I was told by Riders during the event that I would be kept posted on what was happening to the motorcycle I had donated.
I have been on your email list from the start.



The chassis no. of the motorcycle I have donated this year is 9C2MD35U07R000798
Engine no. MD28EU 7000798
And I would appreciate to be kept informed of it's whereabouts whether gathering dust in a warehouse or out in the field.

Also I was very dissapointed at the end of Enduroafrica this year that there was no thanks to the people who had competed in the event from RfH.
Even a letter read out would have been appreciated.

J. McMaster





Suddenly the phone rings:mmmm
Jenny from RfH says they had my e-mail wrongly spelt Jonny instead of johnny
only problem there is that you can put tosser@skye-windscreens.co.uk and it would still get to me:D so couldn't send any updates, a few of the guys from last year must have the same problem.

How did they get my tel no:confused:

Anyway I've been told my bike from last year is out in the field with a health worker who with the cash donation has been trained in riding maintaining and has been dished out in suitable riding garb and an e-mail with pics etc etc is being sent out.:clap:clap:clap
Different story from what was being relayed by some of Riders associates:mad:


I am not wanting RfH to run after my @rse telling me every 2k the bike does in fact if it was broken up into spares to keep other bikes moving I wouldn't have been bothered as long as it was doing the purpose.

Barry Coleman and Randy Mamola said they would keep us informed of the bikes whereabouts at the handover as part of the deal so it is not as if I'm asking for the impossible.
If a satisfactory outcome comes in the e-mail I may continue to sponsor the bikes
 
That's a pretty poor show by them- sounds like they've got some issues to sort out at this end which is a shame as it is a really good idea if it all works.

It must be exasperating ( at the least )for you and all the rest of the people who've put in a lot of their own time, effort and money to make it a success only to be left hanging..

Hope it gets sorted out properly and the help goes to those who need it.

P.S. Once it's sorted I'll still be up for putting my liver at risk to raise more funds for it again :D
 
Hope it all has a satisfactory outcome, Johnny :)

Can't help thinking that £55,000 to employ someone additional in the UK is pretty big business, though :confused:

Al :thumb2
 
RfH

Hi Johnny

Good to hear yer home in one piece yer Maj,another great effort on your behalf.:bow :clap

Thank's for the brief on this charity,our Stuart and a friend are presently putting together an event and Rfh is one of the charities involved,they may need to do a bit more research now.

:beerjug:

Schultz
 
Hi Johnny,

Sorry to hear you weren't getting the updates. I was, even though they hadn't made the connection between 'Cogs' and 'Ian Underwood' and had included me in a list of 'missing' which generated a reassuring enquiries for my wellbeing from Grey and Red team members :)

I received the latest of a number of updates last Friday with, finally, some good news that 33 bikes were now out in the field in Zim.

Apologies for the length of the following but I believe those genuinely concerned with the the work of RfH and Enduroo Africa would like to read the whole, reassuring, mail.

Well done with EA 2007 BTW you lucky devil :D

Dear supporters of Riders for Health , Zimbabwe



We are thrilled to tell you that almost a third of the Enduro motorcycles, 36 in fact, are now with their new owners in the provinces of Zimbabwe. So the motorcycles you used for fun in South Africa are now being used to deliver regular and reliable health care, helping to save lives.



The training for these 36 riders has been completed and the motorcycles will be used in three Zimbabwean provinces; Midlands, Masvingo, and Manicaland. Alfred Gonga and members of his team from the International Academy of Vehicle Management (IAVM) have recently been to the provincial centres to present the bikes to the health care workers and complete their training.



As you know, the health workers were already using motorcycles within the Riders managed system, but Alfred reported that a great deal of excitement was caused by the handing over of the new bikes and protective clothing to the health workers. Alfred explained to each of the groups how Riders had come to receive the motorcycles and the health workers were very happy to be partnered with an Enduro rider. The health workers were also grateful to you all for your efforts in raising money for their new motorcycles.



And then onto the training. The health workers are all experienced riders, but have moved from a 2-stroke, 6-volt to a 4-stroke, 12-volt machine. The trainees had already been trained to carry out daily maintenance and safety checks, a system which Riders refers to as PLANS - Petrol, Lubricants, Adjustment, Nuts and bolts, Stop (breaks). But t he electric start system of the AG200 has a different lubrication system, so Alfred and his team explained the new system to the health workers and they were shown how to check the sump for their daily maintenance.



The health workers then spent three days with Alfred and his team, where they were retrained to handle the more powerful and heavier AG200 motorcycles. This was also an opportunity for the team from the IAVM to refresh the riding skills of the trainees. Alfred has been very pleased with the development of the health workers and their riding skills.



Below is a message from Alfred to you all about how the motorcycles make a difference to the lives of the health workers and the communities they serve. We know from your support of Riders that you already understand how vital reliable transportation is to saving lives in Africa, but we wanted you to hear this from the team in the field.



"Training in the three provinces covered so far has gone very well. As you know, in most wards and villages an Environmental Health Technician (EHT) and his or her motorcycle is the only link among the community to the clinic, hospital or nearest referral centre or source of life-saving drugs. Before the EHT had his or her motorcycle they had to walk to see people, but with a motorcycle the number of times they visit the villages in their care increases from once every month to once a week. All areas are reached in time, it is easier to identify problems and faster reporting is possible. This enhances rapid response and investigation into outbreaks, diseases and other aspects such as suspected rabies and cholera cases.



There are various programmes an EHT co-ordinates and manages; for example the National TB and Leprosy control programme. With a motorcycle, district TB co-ordinators find it easier to travel throughout a district to carry out supervising visits to clinics and any other necessary training. This then means increased TB management activities, which include disease investigation, notification, contact tracing and follow up of defaulters.



Having reliable transportation also means the EHT's can train and monitor more community-based workers. These community based workers focus on water and sanitation and as a result of increased links with the EHT, services are seen to improve.



Within the community in general, malaria control and treatment is enhanced - malaria drugs are delivered direct to the community, rather than the community having to walk up to 40km to collect the drugs themselves. Plus indoor residual house spraying and monitoring can now be easily carried out.



The EHT's and all the three Ministry of Health child welfare departments were delighted to receive the motorcycles, which they said would make a huge difference to their work. They expressed their gratitude to Riders and the participants who donated the motorcycles.



Alfred Gonga

Principal - IAVM''





What we would like to do is contact as many of you as we can and send you a photograph of your motorcycle and the health care worker who now uses your vehicle for their life-saving work. As you can imagine, this is not a simple process with so many motorcycles and a great deal of activity taking place during training. It also means all of these photographs have to be sent to us from Zimbabwe, so we ask for your patience during this process.



For those of you whose bike has been placed in the Midlands, Masvingo and Manicaland, you will be hearing from Jennie at the beginning of next week. Unfortunately though, we still do not have the e-mail addresses for every participant. For the three provinces already completed, we do not have e-mail addresses for those people listed at the end of my e-mail. If any of you are in touch with these people, please ask them to e-mail Jennie on jgoodman@riders.org if they would like an update on their motorcycle.



The next province where training will take place is Mashonaland West and then onto Matabeleland South, so we will be in contact with you all again soon to update you on our progress.



In the meantime, if any of you would like to see photographs of the training taking place in the three completed provinces, please let Jennie know and she will arrange this for you.



Finally, since my last update the team in Zimbabwe have received the clothing some of you donated after Enduro Africa 2006. For those of you that kindly donated jackets, boots, helmets etc. - thank you very much. We appreciate your kindness and generosity.



With warm wishes from everyone at Riders,



Andrea Coleman

CEO - Riders





- Adrian Arnold

- Thomas Rafferty

- John Dick

- Peter Garrod

- Christopher Knight

- Grant Jeffrey

- Peter Holland

- Derek Thompson

- Paul Hooker

- Ian Underwood

- Iain Matthews

- Anthony Cox

- Thomas Williams

- Rodney Brotherwood

- Thomas Reynolds
 
Hi Cogs

Riders got in touch with me, poor communication was to blame.

A very small percentage of peoples contact details were retained hence the rumour mill going into overload.

I got a call from Jennie and all has been put to rights.
I was told that bikes were sitting in a warehouse and the donations were used for employing another member of staff in the UK by a Riders representative.
Also the meeting we had with Mamola and the Coleman's at Donington questions were not answered.
So you could understand my concerns.

I received great news that
that the motorcycle I donated in 2006 to Riders for
Health through sponsorship has been placed in the Manicaland province of Zimbabwe.



The name of the health worker who will be using the motorcycle for
their life saving work is Abisha Solomon Nyamundanda so thankfully it's out in the field working clap:clap:clap
 
The name of the health worker who will be using the motorcycle for
their life saving work is Abisha Solomon Nyamundanda so thankfully it's out in the field working clap:clap:clap

its good that you chase this up, I always worry about giving to the BIG Charitys and don`t, even the BIG ISSUE.

I used to collect for R.S.P.B and the WESSEX HEART BEAT but used to have to ask them for thankyou letters for display in the shop.

So THE GATEWAY came along for me, our group has even disstanced them selfs from MENCAP a bit due to maybe new carpets in the HQ.

What I wanted to say was that I`m amazed there was anything left of that bike after you rode it. :confused:
 
It's good to here that the bikes are getting to where they are needed and well done Johnny for chasing the info but £55K to employ 1 UK employee?

That seems ridiculous for a charity position and reminds me of a friend of my mothers. Some years ago took a job with one of the biggest charities and was asked what car they wanted. "None", came the answer, "I live so close to the office that I walk to and from work and my job does not entail regular off-site visits". "Oh", was the reply, "you have to take it, it's part of your contract. Now do you prefer BMW, Mercedes or Audi?"

I nearly chocked when she told me...........:spitfire
 
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It's good to here that the bikes are getting to where they are needed and well done Johnny for chasing the info but £55K to employ 1 UK employee?

That seems ridiculous for a charity position and reminds me of a friend of my mothers. Some years ago took a job with one of the biggest charities and was asked what car they wanted. "None", came the answer, "I live so close to the office that I walk to and from work and my job does not entail regular off-site visits". "Oh", was the reply, "you have to take it, it's part of your contract. Now do you prefer BMW, Mercedes or Audi?"

I nearly chocked when she told me...........:spitfire

55k - less employers National Insurance contribution, less overheads (a place to work, PC, phone etc), less expenses (travel), benefits (pension contribution, medical insurance) could easily leave only 30 or 35k as the salary for the person. Not such a ridiculous figure... IMHO, especially if they in London
 


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