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They spent 500 million to build 4 houses. That's inexcusable.

• curtis 9y ago
  They spent 500 million dollars on something and no doubt on many different things, but it wasn't on 4 houses. There's definitely a problem in that we don't know what exactly they spent that money on, and we also have no idea if the stuff they spent it on was actually very effective (it's hard to believe that it was anything other than a great waste, but that may also be true of the very large sums of money spent by other non-profits in Haiti). The narrative that the American Red Cross spent half a billion dollars on a handful of houses is so grossly -- and obviously -- over-simplified that it can't be anything but complete baloney. It makes a great headline though. (It goes without saying that this is my own humble opinion, of course.)
  • rpedela 9y ago
    From a 2015 NPR article [1]: "The Red Cross says it has provided homes to more than 130,000 people, but the number of permanent homes the charity has built is six." I don't know about you, but that screams fraud to me. 1. http://www.npr.org/2015/06/03/411524156/in-search-of-the-red-cross-500-million-in-haiti-relief http://www.npr.org/2015/06/03/411524156/in-search-of-the-red...
    • 24gttghh 9y ago
      Is the Red Cross supposed to build houses? I was under the impression they focus on temporary, emergency shelter...Sounds more like something up Habitat for Humanity's alley.
      • rpedela 9y ago
        If you read the article, they have made several other claims regarding Haiti which simply weren't true. THAT is the problem, not whether or not they are an organization who builds houses.
        • 24gttghh 9y ago
          I'm just pointing out maybe you should pick a different example of what constitutes fraud by the Red Cross, as you just alluded to.