Following an urgent appeal, Article 25 has raised the £130,000 needed to allow the charity to continue its work.
Article 25 was left facing insolvency following the discovery of a serious £200,000 fraud. Alerted to “irregular account activity” by its bank on 29 June the reconstruction charity became embroiled in a police investigation into the fraud. Scott William Golding, the charity’s office manager and book keeper was arrested on 14 June and charged with fraud and false accounting.
Sunand Prasad, chairman of article 25, told Construction Manager that he was extremely grateful for the donations that have allowed the charity to carry on its work. “It has not just been from architects and engineers – there has been a cross industry response,” he said.
“I cannot thank them enough for their solidarity, support and generosity. Having hit the target and decided to continue with our work with renewed vigour we will also take steps to ensure that Article 25’s financial controls and procedures are the best in the charity sector which is so vulnerable to theft and fraud.
Article 25 recently launched its Nepal Reconstruction Appeal: Building Schools – Changing Lives after the earthquake
“We are not assuming that the funds can be recovered, but we are [after receiving the donations] able to continue as we were, with our work in Nepal and Haiti, and are looking at other projects worldwide.”
Prasad is also keen to encourage more involvement from the construction industry in the aid charity’s work. “Obviously we would love more support fundraising, but we would also welcome interest in the projects themselves,” he told CM.
Article 25 recently launched its Nepal Reconstruction Appeal: Building Schools – Changing Lives, following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in the country. The work is focused on allowing children to return to safe schools and resume their education.
Project manager Turner & Townsend and engineer Ramboll have recently joined the reconstruction effort in Nepal by launching a pro bono surveying project in the country.
Leonie Grover: “no illusions”
The companies have sent four teams of structural engineers and surveyors to assess the damage at nine hospitals hit by the earthquakes.
The work is being carried out in conjunction with the government’s Department for International Development (DFID) and on behalf of the Nepali government, working with surveyors from the Nepali firm of consulting engineers John Sanday Associates.
Leonie Grover, an associate director at Turner & Townsend who is leading the project, said: “Two months after the first devastating earthquake hit Nepal, the TV cameras may have moved on, but the disaster relief work is far from over. And the hard work of rebuilding the country’s shattered infrastructure is just beginning.
“I’m returning to Nepal full of excitement, but under no illusions about the scale of the task that awaits me. Turner & Townsend’s previous work for DFID in Nepal was all about training Nepali engineers and surveyors and helping the country to prepare for the worst.
“Now the worst has happened, the importance of our work has been thrown into sharp relief. Working with colleagues from Ramboll, DFID, and Nepal, we have a crucial role to play in helping the Nepali government to repair and rebuild several essential hospitals.”
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