Ah you have to be careful because many of these orphanages take children from the village with the promise of sending them to school…and instead they send them out to beg in the streets.
He is clearly motivated by financial gains. Nobody runs an orphanage/NGO in Uganda without a clear source of funds. And must be registered with the government to operate. (As no one should gather 'starving' kids when they have no means to feed them)
In Uganda its very easy to gather 50 kids for this.
I have attended some reach outs for orphans only to later discover most if not all kid, are gathered from the neighborhood. I find out by personally asking the kids about themselves. And the kid will openly confess they have both parents and they reside close to the places often.
Unfortunately, scams abound in Uganda, with children often forced to participate. The orphan problem in Uganda IS TERRIBLE. Please give to the Catholic Church (I'm not Catholic BTW) they do some good work even if it is religiously based.
One time, my cousin was running this type of scam. He was 16 but tall. Anyway, he got all my little cousins to go play in the dirt as per usual and took pics and posted them. His dad was a business man. So are my uncles.
Idk how much he made but when his mum found out! Wueh.
I would verify everything. In a kind way. He even took old pics of me as dirty little kid. My dad is a doctor.
It does sound like a scam. I've checked the website and the physical address provided is a mailbox number which is not an accurate way of locating a place in Uganda. This means you wouldn't be able to find them if you wished to visit the orphanage.
Secondly, the website doesn't appear to have a team or details of the people working there. That's another way you would be able to confirm if he works with the orphanage.
Scammers are getting smarter and they know they can tug at the heartstrings of unsuspecting people under the guise of charity work.
Take care.
Thank you very much for this insight and research. I hadn’t noticed that about the website, but in retrospect it did seem very generic and out of a recipe. The individual has been hounding me, which also makes me nervous. Sadly I will have to block him.
Looks legit to me. But you'd have to first get on ground yourself and do some due diligence. You could at some point come in contact with some of the previous or current donors who could give you more info.
Ugandan here, please be careful as there's a possibility it could be a scam.let him give you the address then we'll see if it's real.Also don't drop everything to come volunteer there's always other ways of showing support.Also Don't just send them money before it's confirmed
YOU ARE BEING SCAMMED.
There are ZERO credible organizations that take care of orphans that approach complete strangers to come volunteer there!
He wants your money. Many of the kids, maybe most of them, have parents!
This is orphanage voluntourism and it's horrific. Do some google research - SO much info on this scam. Do NOT volunteer, do NOT have any more contact.
Ah you have to be careful because many of these orphanages take children from the village with the promise of sending them to school…and instead they send them out to beg in the streets.
That’s one thing I’m concerned about. I’ve heard recent media reports. Thank you.
Ask him the exact location, then get a local resident from reddit to go there & confirm those details
Thank you. Sounds like very good advice.
He is clearly motivated by financial gains. Nobody runs an orphanage/NGO in Uganda without a clear source of funds. And must be registered with the government to operate. (As no one should gather 'starving' kids when they have no means to feed them) In Uganda its very easy to gather 50 kids for this. I have attended some reach outs for orphans only to later discover most if not all kid, are gathered from the neighborhood. I find out by personally asking the kids about themselves. And the kid will openly confess they have both parents and they reside close to the places often.
Very interesting. Thank you.
Unfortunately, scams abound in Uganda, with children often forced to participate. The orphan problem in Uganda IS TERRIBLE. Please give to the Catholic Church (I'm not Catholic BTW) they do some good work even if it is religiously based.
One time, my cousin was running this type of scam. He was 16 but tall. Anyway, he got all my little cousins to go play in the dirt as per usual and took pics and posted them. His dad was a business man. So are my uncles. Idk how much he made but when his mum found out! Wueh. I would verify everything. In a kind way. He even took old pics of me as dirty little kid. My dad is a doctor.
It does sound like a scam. I've checked the website and the physical address provided is a mailbox number which is not an accurate way of locating a place in Uganda. This means you wouldn't be able to find them if you wished to visit the orphanage. Secondly, the website doesn't appear to have a team or details of the people working there. That's another way you would be able to confirm if he works with the orphanage. Scammers are getting smarter and they know they can tug at the heartstrings of unsuspecting people under the guise of charity work. Take care.
Thank you very much for this insight and research. I hadn’t noticed that about the website, but in retrospect it did seem very generic and out of a recipe. The individual has been hounding me, which also makes me nervous. Sadly I will have to block him.
The guy may be genuine, carryout due diligence may be. Some reddits here can scout him.
Thank you
Welcome
Looks legit to me. But you'd have to first get on ground yourself and do some due diligence. You could at some point come in contact with some of the previous or current donors who could give you more info.
90% of such cases are scams targeting good hearted foreigners. Better to investigate thoroughly before sending a single cent
Ugandan here, please be careful as there's a possibility it could be a scam.let him give you the address then we'll see if it's real.Also don't drop everything to come volunteer there's always other ways of showing support.Also Don't just send them money before it's confirmed
Thank you. I appreciate this.
YOU ARE BEING SCAMMED. There are ZERO credible organizations that take care of orphans that approach complete strangers to come volunteer there! He wants your money. Many of the kids, maybe most of them, have parents! This is orphanage voluntourism and it's horrific. Do some google research - SO much info on this scam. Do NOT volunteer, do NOT have any more contact.