My Nonprofit Reviews

A couple of months ago, I sponsored a brother and sister. The demographic information listed on the computer reflected they were the only children of a family living in the Dominican Republic. This lead me to believe I was the only sponsor for this family. The computerized demographics also reflected the father was a daily worker earning $100 dollars per month and that they lived in a 2 berm house with only 2 beds which lead me to believe the siblings slept together. Based upon this information, I believed the family needed some immediate relief and could probably use some extra money for food and essentials such as another bed. Subsequently, I gifted several hundreds of dollars allowing Children's International to supervise the needed items to the family thinking the monies would be used for basic necessities for the family. Now, I am receiving pictures, correspondence, and information from Children's International that their are 7 children total with 4 other sponsors for the family. Additionally, I have received documentation and pictures advising me that my hard earned money went to buy bicycles for both children, multiple toys for not only my sponsored children but for other children in the household that I did not sponsor nor was I made aware of their existence at the time of sponsorship. Very few groceries, to include a pack of diapers, were purchased and given the size of the household, such groceries would last only a day or two. I consider them token groceries intended to justify the allocation of the monies. I have contacted Children's International to basically ask them what the heck is going on here. They did did acknowledge there are more children and more sponsors for the family. They are checking into the reported 2 bed situation and hopefully the reported income. I seriously doubt either is accurate and if they are, why were my monies used primarily for toys. I want to know who is responsible for this bait and switch. Is it the family providing false information or the Children's International office who input the data into the computer. I am glad the children liked their toys; however, I do not appreciate the bait and switch or the abuse in the spending of the funds I provided for what I was lead to believe would go primarily for basic necessities and not toys. I wish I had not paid in advance for a years sponsorship for both children. I am seriously at a loss as to what to do as I have already established a relationship with the children and they are not responsible for the bait and switch scheme being perpetrated here. I wish I had donated my monies to the local food bank where my funds would have been used better.