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Kids Company workers protest on Downing Street after sudden closure
Kids Company workers protest on Downing Street after sudden closure
(about 3 hours later)
Kids Company founder Camila Batmanghelidjh joined hundreds of angry supporters as they descended on Downing Street today protesting against the charity's sudden closure following claims of financial mismanagement and child sexual abuse.
The founder of the Kids Company charity joined hundreds of angry supporters as they descended on Downing Street yesterday in protest against the charity’s sudden closure.
Emotional protestors chanted “save Kids Company, save that child” and carried banners as they marched from the charity’s offices in Camberwell, south London, to Whitehall where they met Miss Batmanghelidj. She was given a hero’s welcome from supporters who lined up to hug and speak to her, shouting “we love you Camilla, we love you” before she was driven away in a black cab.
Emotional protesters chanted “Save Kids Company, save that child” and carried banners as they marched from the charity’s offices in Camberwell, south London, to Whitehall.
One supporter, Olawatosin Jenmi, whose daughter has been helped by the charity, said: “Camilla is amazing. The workers are amazing. If there are any allegations, why now? They have been going for 19 years. Why are they doing this to us? My heart breaks. I have been crying and crying. With Kids Company you are assured you are safe. It is our children’s second home.”
Meeting up with Camila Batmanghelidjh, they gave her a hero’s welcome as supporters lined up to hug and speak to her, shouting: “We love you Camilla, we love you.”
Olawakemi Afolabi, who has two children, has been in hospital suffering from anxiety. She told the Huffington Post: “Kids Company is helping me and my children. We rely on the vouchers they give to us to feed ourselves. They have helped me after I came out of hospital. They made life easy for me.
The 52-year-old has been criticised for her running of the charity, which has been caught in a row over the use of donations from the public and the government for its work in helping deprived youngsters and their families.
“Now I don’t know where we are heading to. I don’t think I have any hope again. I went them to re-open, to get a second chance. There’s no other charity like this. I am seriously worried - yesterday I was shedding tears. I don't know what’s next.”
She has denied allegations that have arisen recently of financial mismanagement and has insisted the charity was not made aware of any allegations of child sexual abuse, but the organisation closed this week due to funding problems.
Protestor Tom Ngoye said: “We didn’t even get a chance for our voice to be heard. The company got shut down within two weeks. We’re worried about the young people we worked with, we had no chance to say goodbye to them. It’s about the voice of the young people.”
Yet one backer, Oluwatosin Jenmi, whose daughter has been helped by the charity, said at the protest: “Camilla is amazing. The workers are amazing. If there are any allegations, why now? They have been going for 19 years. Why are they doing this to us? My heart breaks. I have been crying and crying. With Kids Company you are assured you are safe. It is our children’s second home.”
Kids Company, which supports vulnerable inner-city children across London, Bristol and Liverpool, always claimed it helped 36,000 people – a figure widely disputed. The charity’s own Annual Report for 2013 states that it spent £15m on salary costs that year but only documented 750 children who it helped.
Olawakemi Afolabi, who has two children and has needed support while staying in hospital suffering from anxiety recently, agreed. “Kids Company is helping me and my children,” she told the Huffington Post website. “We rely on the vouchers they give to us to feed ourselves. They have helped me after I came out of hospital. They made life easy for me. Now I don’t know where we are heading to. I don’t think I have any hope again. I want them to re-open, to get a second chance. There’s no other charity like this.”
Kids Company faced further controversy today as more witnesses alleged sexual abuse, violence and drug crimes at Kids Company centres. It is alleged that staff knew of complaints from girls, then aged 16 to 18, that male clients of Kids Company in their 20s had been forcing them to have sex and commit sexual acts.
Protester Tom Ngoye said: “The company got shut down within two weeks. We’re worried about the young people we worked with, we had no chance to say goodbye to them.”
Two witnesses alleged that complaints had been made known to relevant members of staff at the Urban Academy in Southwark.
Kids Company, which supports vulnerable inner-city children across London, Bristol and Liverpool, claims it has helped 36,000 people, a figure that has been questioned. The charity’s own annual report for 2013 states that it spent £15m on salary costs that year but only documented 750 children who it helped.
Ms Batmanghelidjh has strongly denied allegations of financial mismanagement and child sexual abuse carried out on its premises. She said police had brought the latter allegation to the charity’s attention recently and it would have “absolutely dealt with it very robustly” if it had emerged before then. She blamed the sexual abuse allegations for the loss of a donation which could have helped secure its future and said it had been police had been “very irresponsible” in releasing the information to the media.
However, a group of lawyers said the closure of Kids Company will mean thousands of children will be denied access to justice. They wrote in a letter to The Guardian: “Over many years, Kids Company has brought hundreds of extremely vulnerable children to our offices and the courts to fight for their basic rights.
Ms Batmanghelidjh also denied an allegation that she had advised a staff member not to press charges after he was attacked by a young client with a snooker ball at The Arches II centre in south London. The attacker is serving a prison sentence for murder.
“These are the children who local authorities appear unable or unwilling to support and who it is now said will provide the support now that Kids Company is closed. This is pure fantasy.”
She blamed the charity’s sudden demise on “rumour-mongering civil servants, ill-spirited ministers and the media”. She also said Kids Company was shut down by “elements” in the Government to suppress the Establishment child sex abuse scandal.
Karl Wilding, from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, told the BBC they were coming together to try to “provide cover” for Kids Company.
Ms Batmanghelidj said there was a campaign to “maliciously discredit” and silence her linked to the ongoing investigation by police into claims that politicians, senior detectives and VIPs have protected high-profile paedophiles.
Barnardo’s CEO Javed Khan said: “Barnardo’s attended the meeting with the Cabinet Office today to find out how we could help… We will do all we can to support vulnerable children that have been affected by the closure. We are already looking at our existing services in the affected areas to see how we can help in these communities and hope funding can be found to make it happen.”
Ukip MEP Patrick O’Flynn said: “Kids Company allegations [are] disturbing, but don’t forget that Government agencies are hardly flawless in child protection either, think Rotherham for example.”
Action for Children said it was “too early” to say if it could take up any of Kids Company’s services.
A group of lawyers said the closure of Kids Company will mean thousands of children will be denied access to justice.
“Over many years, Kids Company has brought hundreds of extremely vulnerable children to our offices and the courts to fight for their basic rights,” they wrote in a letter to the Guardian. “These are the children who local authorities appear unable or unwilling to support and who it is now said will provide the support now that Kids Company is closed. This is pure fantasy.”
Karl Wilding, from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, told the BBC were coming together to try to “provide cover” for Kids Company. However Action for Children told the Independent it was “too early” to say if it could take up any of Kids Company’s services and Barnardo’s did not say if it was in a position to help or not.
