Charity

This Time for Africa!

Laurie Kelley July 3, 2011


One month from today I will be in Africa, about to reach new heights, literally. I’m planning a huge mountain climb, up Mt. Kilimanjaro, the largest mountain in Africa and largest freestanding mountain in the world. At 19,340 feet, it’s colossal. We will start at tropical temperatures, and gradually progress up to Arctic temperatures, below freezing. It will take us six days: five up and one down!

Who are we? The nine other climbers are: my 17-year-old daughter; Eric Hill and son Alex; Neil Herson and daughters Britney and Kelly; Jeff Salantai, who has hemophilia, and Julie Winton, a nurse with a son with VWD. Jeff and I just met for the first time last week in San Antonio! He was the first person with hemophilia to climb Mt. Rainier last year!

Eric is president and founder of BioRx, a specialty pharmacy. Jeff and Julie are his employees. Neil is president and founder of ASD Healthcare, one of the largest distributors of plasma derived products and pharmaceuticals in the US.

Our goal is to raise money for Save One Life and its Africa programs. Save One Life is the child sponsorship program for impoverished children with bleeding disorders in developing countries. I’ve been traveling to Africa since 1999, and was the first person from our international community to travel to Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania. I’ve also been to Zimbabwe four times and hope to return again soon. We started outreach programs in Tanzania and Zimbabwe to help locate more patients. We also want to start a scholarship program for college age men in Kenya. They are all so lacking in funds, and it doesn’t take much to get them an education. Once they are educated, they have a chance at a better life.

Eric is a sponsor of two children through Save One Life Neil is one of our biggest sponsors at 49 children! Obviously they are deeply committed to our cause.

They must be to tackle Kilimanjaro. Long the focus of lore and legend, Kili is very special. And tough. While not a technical climb, meaning there will be no ropes or climbing gear, it is strenuous. The biggest worry is altitude sickness: migraine headaches that lead to vomiting and lack of appetite. Oxygen levels will be at 50% of sea level.

But I have hope. Chris Bombardier, a young man from Colorado, just returned from Kenya and I think is the very first American with hemophilia to summit Kili! His climb also raised money for Save One Life.

If you’d like to sponsor a climber, please go to our donation page. Please note that 100% of your donation goes to Save One Life and its African programs, and not to cover the costs of the climb, or airfare or anything related to the trip. Each climber pays for his or her own expenses. All funds raised are donated to Save One Life. It’s a huge commitment in terms of time, energy, and money for these climbers. Please give them motivation and support by pledging today!

http://www.saveonelife.net/mt-kilimanjaro-climb.phpa

Interesting Book I Just Read
Break on Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison by James Riordan and Jerry Prochnicky

Shaman or madman? Forty year ago today Jim Morrison died of “heart failure” in a bathtub in Paris, of a suspected overdose. His death is being honored around the world by tens of thousands who loved his music and somehow identified with this tortured poet-turned-rock star. It’s hard to see the poet when you read the account here which can make you wince: the drinking, the juvenile antics, destruction of property and disregard for the rights of others, including his own band mates who suffered six long years with their front man. Gifted with a gorgeous voice and even better looks, Morrison relished the role of star, but also sought solitude personally, and respect for his poetry. “The Lizard King” brought the Doors fame and a legacy in rock and roll history, but as much for pushing the envelope as for his lyrics. His on stage antics made him the first rock star to be arrested on stage; he had 20 paternity suits pending at the time of his death; he was banned forever in Phoenix. Now his antics look tame, but in the 60s, this was all new, and dangerous. Morrison took rock where it had never gone before.

Riordan was a Rolling Stone contributor, and interviewed Morrison. But the writing is choppy, perhaps reflecting two different authors’ styles, and references to current events—Vietnam, Charles Manson, Apollo 11—are stuck in the middle of the story, often without a connection, or when there is a connection, it’s contrived. Some of the statements are just ridiculous (No matter how he tried to avoid it, legal trouble followed Morrison [as though he were an innocent bystander] and then in the next paragraph, they relate how he was arrested by the FBI and held in jail for disturbing the staff and passengers on a commercial plane ride). The attempt to view Morrison as a shaman is a bit too serious, verging on hero-worship. Much of the material here seems to be pinched from other sources, though sources are often not cited. So this is not a well written or researched book, certainly not as good as No One Here Gets Out Alive. I prefer drummer John Densmore’s Riders on the Storm the best, for its candid and sympathetic view of a man, Jim Morrison, who vented his deep-seated angers at his audiences, and muted his insecurities through alcohol. What a waste: judging from the Celebrations of the Lizard today, he is still cherished as a star, marveled at for being truly innovative, and listened to with pleasure. He appalled and attracted. The world is ever fascinated by him. Morrison has influenced many rock stars since his brief life ended. And members of the Doors are still touring, as much as ever (I almost went to see Ray Manzarek when he was in Massachusetts in May–so sorry I missed it!) He always said he would be a comet: a brilliant flash, here for a short while, but leaving a lasting impression. How true! RIP, Lizard King. Two stars.

Three Cups of Bitter Brew: Charities Gone Bad

Laurie Kelley May 2, 2011

Last Sunday night’s “60 Minutes” was a shocker for me. I don’t watch TV–at all–but made time to watch this. Jon Krakauer of Into Thin Air fame exposed best-selling author and humanitarian Greg Mortenson as a fraud. Up until now, Greg Mortenson was someone I admired and even met at a book signing. His rapid downfall is a warning to all charities.

Mortenson’s book Three Cups of Tea has been a New York Times bestseller for about two years. Though not a particularly well-written book, it nonetheless describes a fascinating, life-changing journey: an aborted 1993 attempt on K2, Mortenson’s descent and separation from his team, and his stumbling half-dead into a remote Pakistani village. The residents cared for him, and he witnessed their utter poverty and lack of schools. He in turn pledged to build them a school someday. He turned this event into a mission, and the Central Asia Institute (CAI) was founded, a non-profit that in 2010 reported it has built over 171 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, providing education to over 64,000 children, including 54,000 girls. One of the highlights of the book was when Mortenson was captured for eight days by the Taliban, but won them over and left them cheering for his success.

Inspirational, motivational, miraculous… and not true.

This was devastating news to those of us who work in the international humanitarian world, who know how difficult it is to get funds, who see projects falter, who sacrifice many weeks and months, sometimes years. We also cheered for the success of someone like Mortenson, who accomplished what seemed impossible. His small charity grew, thanks to his best selling book, and according to “60 Minutes”, raked in about $60 million last year.

Shoddy journalism or outright lies? Mortenson never stumbled into a village following his K2 attempt. The Taliban never did capture him. Seems that people are coming out of the woodwork now to discredit Mortenson.

Krakauer is an excellent writer and dogged journalist, citing sources for his evidence, and naming names. One of the most disconcerting points is the tangled finances at CAI, which are obscured, poorly documented, and lack transparency. Book sales royalty goes to Mortenson, enough to make him a millionaire. Well, that’s America; nothing wrong with that. But when it is made from fabricated stories passed as nonfiction, and when they make up the backbone of the book? How about this: while he rakes in the millions, he charges CAI for the travel, posh hotels, chartered planes, and all expenses. This is wrong, wrong, wrong. According to the report, he rarely turns in expense reports. Seems that no one quite knows where a lot of the money goes.

Krakauer even visited the school overseas. Half of the visited schools are empty. Mortenson has overseen the building of many schools and many do work. But something just doesn’t add up. CAI’s own audited financial statement states that over 50% of their program expenses are spent on domestic “outreach”—50%!—and not on the schools themselves. The outreach means Mortenson’s speaking engagements, which you recall, earns him millions.

I donated money to CAI after I met Mortenson. He seemed quiet, humble and hard working. It’s his personal story that is so compelling, and now I learn it is fabricated. Who knew that he was fudging stories, milking the public’s sympathies, painting himself as an American Mother Theresa, all the while skimming and dipping the millions pouring in?

What’s worse is that this will have a ripple effect for so many charities, at a bad time in America with rising consumer costs, high unemployment and political dissatisfaction. I know so many true heroes out there, working without the masses worshipping them, I don’t think Mortenson set out to defraud the public; I think he truly wanted to make a difference but when we started our hero-workshop, the story became a myth, the myth launched sales, and money poured in, Mortenson went to the Dark Side.

It’s a tale that hemophilia charities and their donors should note well. Get a professional audit; check and document your sources before printing anything; separate professional revenues and expenses from the nonprofit ones if you work in both; submit original receipts, even for one cup of coffee; executive directors cannot and should not serve on their own boards; boards of directors should be allowed to make policies and enforce them, even to the founder; ensure that most of your program money is spent on the people you are trying to serve, and not on publicity, overhead or travel. And never think you are above the law.

Thanks to Krakauer, the attorney general of Montana will be investigating CAI to see if the charges are true. This is a bitter brew for all in charities.

Great Book I Just Read
Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer

This is the book that knocked the halo off of Greg Mortenson and cracked open an investigation into CAI’s finances and programs. A very quick read, Krakasuer painstakingly reveals the journalistic shoddiness of Three Cups of Tea, the fabrication of stories to enhance sales of the book, the recklessly spending by Mortenson to advance his own hero-status on the backs of public donations—including the “Pennies for Peace” campaign that encouraged school kids to save pennies to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. All lies? That remains to be told, but surely this book rips apart the story that became a dream come true and now threatens to become a nightmare. Four stars.

Charitable Thoughts

Laurie Kelley January 3, 2011


It’s a new year, and a time of resolutions. How about a resolution to be more charitable? So many I know think of donating time and not money, when for most organizations, nonprofits and the people they serve, money helps the most.

This story sure caught my eye:

In July, Violet and Allen Large of Lower Truro, Nova Scotia, won more than $11 million in a lottery. They have since spent every last penny—none on themselves. “What you’ve never had, you never miss,” said Violet, 78. The couple donated the money to a list of causes that included the local fire department, hospitals, and organizations that fight cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. Violet has been undergoing cancer treatments, which has underscored for the couple the limits of wealth. “The money that we won was nothing,” said Allen, 75. “We have each other.” The Week

There are so many causes in hemophilia worthy of a donation: your local chapter, a family in need (yes, we do have many families with hemophilia suffering here in the US). Make a donation in memory of a loved one or in honor of someone you admire to the World Federation of Hemophilia or the National Hemophilia Foundation. I was recently touched when I learned that the New York City Hemophilia Chapter made a donation to the Victory for Women campaign in my honor!

You can also sponsor a child with hemophilia in a developing country through Save One Life. Despite some tough economic times here, we still live like kings compared to an average day in their lives. Visit www.SaveOneLife.net to see some children in need.

And remember the great words of Winston Churchill: We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. Let’s make 2011 a year of giving.

Great Book I Just Read
Deliverance by James Dickey
I had to read this after writer Pat Conroy noted it as one of his top five favorite books. I had seen the excellent movie, which contains one of those lines that has gone down in movie history. The book, my second on a Kindle, is excellent, too. Terse, exciting, horrifying, it pits man against the elements, man against society and man against himself. Everything balanced becomes unbalanced as four city slickers take a canoe for a weekend down the last great river of Missouri before it gets dammed. They encounter much more than they ever thought, leading to questions of justice, revenge, poverty, retribution, evil and survival. Three stars.

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