My take on the Bwindi Foundation/Orphanage:
There is also the Bwindi Orphans & Vulnerable Children Center set up in 2015 by Benedict Habasa, Ronald Ngabirano and Justus Akampurira. Their photos seem to show an already operational facility with the children wearing 'Bwindi Buhoma Orphans and Vulnerable Group' uniforms. Sponsorship for a full term was $300. Last (and only) post was in 2018. Buhoma is on the Northern edge of the Impenetrable National Park.
The current Bwindi Foundation appears to have been set up by John Katutsi in 2017 near the Nteko Village. The Nteko Ridge is on the South Western edge of the Impenetrable National Park.
The Park itself is about 125 square miles big and is within one the most densely populated rural area in Uganda. Approximately 10,000 families live and cultivate land around the Park. Therefore its more than reasonable that the two Orphanages have nothing to do with each other.
The Bwindi Foundations Social Media accounts seem to be a bit hit and miss, even though they list Amy (a Doula) with running the Projects IG account (which I can't find).
The Foundation was registered as a Charity in Uganda (by the Kisoro District Local Government) and they posted a picture of the Certificate on the day it expired (23/06/2018).
Facebook:
Bwindi Trust Orphanage Foundation - Btof. Set up in Apr 2017, quite prolific with posts until late 2020. Only 2 posts in 2021. A lot of its posts are shares from Frank Lomas and Bob Fry (see below).
Bwindi Orphanage Child Sponsorship. Seems to be the current main page set up in 2018 and has a lot of recent posts.
They also message each other over Social Media which might suggest they are run as separate organizations. Both link to the Bwindi Project Webpage.
Red flags:
Bwindi Orphanage Child Sponsorship Facebook page (the page that tagged our dear Eloise as a sponsor) tagged Angela Vittoria in a post. Took me a little while to remember but Vittoria (who is friends with Ellie) runs the Cambridge CBD Company (in a very opaque manner), which itself was one on the businesses that aligned itself with PTTP (and links there from its homepage). Its odd that this is the only time they've tagged someone in the comments in isolation. This occurred 2 days after Ellie messaged them and a day before they posted about her as a sponsor. The page also discusses visiting the children in March (2022), so whoever runs it (I'm assuming Frank Lomas [See below]) is not in Uganda.
The Bwindi Foundation website lists its address as Jersey even though it is registered in Uganda.
Mention of FGM. FGM in Uganda is very low (0.3%) and is mostly concentrated in the (poorer) North Eastern area of the Country. Mentioning it does play to the White Saviour mindset.
Personalities:
Frank Lomas from Manchester-Organised the main GoFundMe in Aug 2017 and its his personal phone number on the Bwindi Foundation Webpage. The GoFundMe gives a concise history of activities to do with the Foundation. Some pictures do show staff members wearing the Bwindi Foundation T-Shirts.
This year he also started a Justgiving for sickle cell treatment for a child in Tanzania.
And another Justgiving and GoFundMe for Wheels of Hope in Uganda.
And another Justgiving for supporting a teenager in Tanzania who had his leg crushed in an accident.
And another GoFundMe at the beginning of 2019 for Nteko Village Orphanage which seems to be more focused to child sponsorship as opposed to the construction of the School/Dormitories of the older GoFundMe.
Bob Fry-Organizes/Shares low level fund raising activities for the Foundation. Very vocal on political viewpoints, Remainer, Socialist, pro refugee, pro animal welfare (particularly dogs).
Oddly in some of her comments another Facebook Page "Bwindi Vulnerable and Orphan children's Support Project" is tagged, there is an associated group with the same name and 91 members, none of which have any connection to the Foundation (although its feasible it may be connected to the other Orphanage to the North of the Park).
Derren Le Bretton-Glover-Lives in Jersey (that may be the link to the Bwindi Foundation location on the Website) and reposts a lot of Bobs/Franks posts.
Amy Washington- Listed on their website as the Social Media Head, did fundraising for some of the sponsors to visit in June this year. Other than that she has (ironically) a very small social media presence.
Conclusion
After a couples of hours of digging I can't find any obvious major issues, the main personalities involved appear genuinely altruistic and their political/personal beliefs are diverse enough that there isn't an echo chamber. Irregularities could be explained by human error. Some activities show a lack of safeguarding although that it not enough to warrant a blanket condemnation. My concern would be that two known individuals within the Anti Vax/Common Law cohort would bring the Foundation into the public eye (as it has) and possibly into disrepute.
There is also the Bwindi Orphans & Vulnerable Children Center set up in 2015 by Benedict Habasa, Ronald Ngabirano and Justus Akampurira. Their photos seem to show an already operational facility with the children wearing 'Bwindi Buhoma Orphans and Vulnerable Group' uniforms. Sponsorship for a full term was $300. Last (and only) post was in 2018. Buhoma is on the Northern edge of the Impenetrable National Park.
The current Bwindi Foundation appears to have been set up by John Katutsi in 2017 near the Nteko Village. The Nteko Ridge is on the South Western edge of the Impenetrable National Park.
The Park itself is about 125 square miles big and is within one the most densely populated rural area in Uganda. Approximately 10,000 families live and cultivate land around the Park. Therefore its more than reasonable that the two Orphanages have nothing to do with each other.
The Bwindi Foundations Social Media accounts seem to be a bit hit and miss, even though they list Amy (a Doula) with running the Projects IG account (which I can't find).
The Foundation was registered as a Charity in Uganda (by the Kisoro District Local Government) and they posted a picture of the Certificate on the day it expired (23/06/2018).
Facebook:
Bwindi Trust Orphanage Foundation - Btof. Set up in Apr 2017, quite prolific with posts until late 2020. Only 2 posts in 2021. A lot of its posts are shares from Frank Lomas and Bob Fry (see below).
Bwindi Orphanage Child Sponsorship. Seems to be the current main page set up in 2018 and has a lot of recent posts.
They also message each other over Social Media which might suggest they are run as separate organizations. Both link to the Bwindi Project Webpage.
Red flags:
Bwindi Orphanage Child Sponsorship Facebook page (the page that tagged our dear Eloise as a sponsor) tagged Angela Vittoria in a post. Took me a little while to remember but Vittoria (who is friends with Ellie) runs the Cambridge CBD Company (in a very opaque manner), which itself was one on the businesses that aligned itself with PTTP (and links there from its homepage). Its odd that this is the only time they've tagged someone in the comments in isolation. This occurred 2 days after Ellie messaged them and a day before they posted about her as a sponsor. The page also discusses visiting the children in March (2022), so whoever runs it (I'm assuming Frank Lomas [See below]) is not in Uganda.
The Bwindi Foundation website lists its address as Jersey even though it is registered in Uganda.
Mention of FGM. FGM in Uganda is very low (0.3%) and is mostly concentrated in the (poorer) North Eastern area of the Country. Mentioning it does play to the White Saviour mindset.
Personalities:
Frank Lomas from Manchester-Organised the main GoFundMe in Aug 2017 and its his personal phone number on the Bwindi Foundation Webpage. The GoFundMe gives a concise history of activities to do with the Foundation. Some pictures do show staff members wearing the Bwindi Foundation T-Shirts.
This year he also started a Justgiving for sickle cell treatment for a child in Tanzania.
And another Justgiving and GoFundMe for Wheels of Hope in Uganda.
And another Justgiving for supporting a teenager in Tanzania who had his leg crushed in an accident.
And another GoFundMe at the beginning of 2019 for Nteko Village Orphanage which seems to be more focused to child sponsorship as opposed to the construction of the School/Dormitories of the older GoFundMe.
Bob Fry-Organizes/Shares low level fund raising activities for the Foundation. Very vocal on political viewpoints, Remainer, Socialist, pro refugee, pro animal welfare (particularly dogs).
Oddly in some of her comments another Facebook Page "Bwindi Vulnerable and Orphan children's Support Project" is tagged, there is an associated group with the same name and 91 members, none of which have any connection to the Foundation (although its feasible it may be connected to the other Orphanage to the North of the Park).
Derren Le Bretton-Glover-Lives in Jersey (that may be the link to the Bwindi Foundation location on the Website) and reposts a lot of Bobs/Franks posts.
Amy Washington- Listed on their website as the Social Media Head, did fundraising for some of the sponsors to visit in June this year. Other than that she has (ironically) a very small social media presence.
Conclusion
After a couples of hours of digging I can't find any obvious major issues, the main personalities involved appear genuinely altruistic and their political/personal beliefs are diverse enough that there isn't an echo chamber. Irregularities could be explained by human error. Some activities show a lack of safeguarding although that it not enough to warrant a blanket condemnation. My concern would be that two known individuals within the Anti Vax/Common Law cohort would bring the Foundation into the public eye (as it has) and possibly into disrepute.
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