MONTREAL – Singer and Haitian activist Luck Mervil is on the defensive after $50,000 went missing from a fund earmarked for homes in the quake-ravaged country.
The Vilaj Vilaj project is supposed to convert shipping containers into houses in and around Port-au-Prince, which was heavily damaged in the January 2010 quake that killed 250,000 people.
Mervil put his career on hold to raise thousands of dollars to buy land for the pre-fab homes. Instead the donations wound up in the personal bank account of Mervil’s cousin, who also happens to be the director of the charity.
He told QMI Agency this week that the cousin, Parnell Pierre, came to him in January to tell him the money was unaccounted for.
“It’s obvious that it was a mistake on his part to put the money in his account,” said Mervil, who has so far refused to fire his cousin. “We were in an emergency situation.”
Mervil says Pierre made a “serious mistake” but he denies any suggestions of fraud.
“If you’re looking for a fraud story, you’re knocking on the wrong door,” Mervil said. “I’ll look into what happened with Mr. Pierre. If there are accusations to make, we’ll do it.”
Mervil’s refusal to get rid of Pierre irked Vilaj Vilaj board members and led at least one volunteer to quit the project.
Mervil could not provide details about his charity’s finances, claiming an audit has not yet been completed. A published report says Vilaj Vilaj owes money to several firms including a $10,000 bill from the designer of the charity’s website.
Mervil says the donations represented only a fraction of the money spent on the charity.
“We raised $50 000 but we also spent $150,000 from our own pockets,” he said.
“We believe in this project.”
Mervil said it will take an additional $25 million to build 5,000 pre-fab homes in Haiti.
From Torontosun.com
