Counterpart International Has No Operation in Mississippi

    WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Counterpart International, the
 humanitarian relief and international development organisation, has dismissed
 news reports which claim that Counterpart has been soliciting funds in
 Mississippi since Hurricane Katrina struck.
     "We are a federally registered charity whose main concern is international
 development in which field we often work with US government agencies such as
 USAID, the US State Department and many non-profits assisting them to deliver
 their charitable contributions to the needy overseas. We have never had nor
 claimed to have any operations in Mississippi," said Counterpart President and
 CEO, Lelei LeLaulu in a statement released to the media on Thursday.
     In responding to news reports and a release on the website of the
 Mississippi Secretary of State's Office, which claim that the Secretary of
 State's Office has taken enforcement action against four unregistered
 charities that were soliciting contributions and did not respond to official
 inquiries, LeLaulu stated that while Counterpart does not have an operation in
 Mississippi, his staff have been advising donors to give to approved charities
 such as the American Red Cross.
     He said Counterpart International had responded to authorities immediately
 following inquiries from the State of Mississippi so he was surprised that the
 authorities there had made such inappropriate allegations against an
 organization which had such an easily verifiable international and national
 reputation.
     LeLaulu said Counterpart had raised a total of US$500 (five hundred
 dollars) through its webpage for victims of Hurricane Katrina and those funds
 were sent to the American Red Cross. Counterpart's staff, said LeLaulu, raised
 US$1,475 (fourteen hundred and seventy-five dollars) which have been earmarked
 to buy food for Louisiana residents who have relocated to Washington DC, the
 worldwide headquarters of Counterpart International.
     Counterpart's staff take regular pay-deductions and engage in staff-led
 volunteer initiatives to help the needy in the US in addition to their
 international work.
     The Counterpart president added that his organisation does not take a
 penny in administrative costs from donations for emergency humanitarian
 relief, as evidenced following the Asian tsunami and the earthquake in
 Pakistan. "We actually leverage those generous funds to get more in-kind
 relief from our partners, such as medical supplies and pharmaceuticals," said
 LeLaulu.
     For further information, visit http://www.counterpart.org
 
     CONTACT:  Bevan Springer of Counterpart International, +1-202-296-9676,
 bspringer@counterpart.org
 
 

SOURCE  Counterpart International