A former Senior Artist Liaison from Oxfam has come out in a Times piece and attacked the charity for its wasteful attitude towards money and the grotesque culture of excess that has permeated its offices. Speaking about how the recent sex scandal has prompted her to come out and discuss her own experiences of the charity’s bizarre workplace ethics, Elisa Roche has opened up about the charity’s “horrifying misuse of time and publicly donated money”.
Withdraw ALL funding from Oxfam. If they are a charity then raise your own funds. Not pickpocket the taxpayer! https://t.co/RBQv7KEwvl
— David Vance (@DVATW) 11 February 2018
In her article Elisa mentions the trend of private caterers, public events with so much food left over that they can fill multiple bin bags with sandwiches and other food, and a ridiculous obsession with PR. She claims that the charity is not interested in helping people at all, but rather holds campaigns not for humanitarian causes but rather for “brand awareness”.
Penny Lawrence resigns as Deputy Chief Executive of Oxfam saying she takes "full responsibility" for behaviour of staff in Chad & Haiti at the time when she was programme director https://t.co/oys0cwbdPW
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) 12 February 2018
One example she gives is a specially printed book filled with photographs that was commissioned for the charity and given away freely to visitors, while she also discusses manicurists that cost £300 (but which no one used) and private caterers. Elisa was particularly angered about the caterers, given that Marks & Spencers is already an official corporate sponsor.
Elisa Roche also briefly discusses how the charity dismissed calls from supporters who were interested in raising money, and she generally expresses the view that the charity views its supporters and donators as “nuisances”.
300 sexual abusers working for fake Charity Oxfam, alleges Priti Patel. That’s industrial scale abuse. Close it DOWN https://t.co/45ek6UeGz8
— David Vance (@DVATW) 11 February 2018
All of this comes just one day after Oxfam’s deputy head quit when it emerged that the charity had not disclosed its employee’s use of sex workers in Haiti after the earthquake. The charity insisted it had done its job by investigating the complaints, but politicians and the public have been critical of the charity’s decision to keep it secret, with many arguing that it resembles a cover-up. Some of the details emerging regarding Haiti describe “Caligula style orgies” and horrific exploitation of the locals.
Meanwhile the government has announced that it is considering cutting funding to Oxfam. Given that the majority of its money comes from government sponsorship this could seriously harm the charity’s future, although given some of the details emerging about its work culture it may be for the best that the money go someplace where it can be put to use properly.
