no sign of progress was made after a year.
A woman who donated £40,000 to Penny Appeal to build an orphanage admitted she feels “cheated” because the job remains incomplete, seven years later.
In 2017, the charity told Ishrat Baig that the home in Pakistan would take around a year to build.
However, a BBC investigation revealed that the orphanage had not yet opened.
Penny Appeal blamed the delays on the Covid-19 pandemic.
For over 10 years, Ishrat dreamed of building an orphanage because she wanted to honour her parents by naming it after them.
She saved £40,000 and got in touch with Penny Appeal.
According to its website, Penny Appeal provides poverty relief in Asia, Africa and the Middle East by “offering water solutions, organising mass feedings, supporting orphan care and providing emergency food and medical aid”.
The charity told Ishrat it operated orphanages in both Pakistan and The Gambia.
After several meetings with Penny Appeal, Ishrat was told her money would be well spent.
She was told her orphanage would be part of a larger site called the Medina Orphan Home Complex, to be built in Sohawa, Punjab.
Despite being told the orphanage would be completed within a year, no sign of progress was made after a year.
All Ishrat had was the location and some provisional plans.
But during this period, Ishrat’s picture was used for promotional purposes on Penny Appeal’s website, something she felt was troubling.
Ishrat continued asking for updates but she claimed she was given several excuses for the delays.
Penny Appeal told BBC that it understood her frustrations but the countries in which it operated “face significant challenges including political unrest and extreme weather events” and said that – coupled with the challenges posed by the pandemic – this led to delays.
In 2021, Ishrat threatened to make the delays public.
She was then granted a meeting with the then-CEO.
At the meeting, she asked for her money back but was told the charity could not return it.
Ishrat stated she no longer had trust in Penny Appeal but felt stuck.
Even after being promised progress updates from the site, she continued to experience further delays.
In late 2023, Ishrat received a picture of a completed building and told her orphanage had been built.
She planned to see it in December but was then told there had been further delays and orphans would not be moved into the property until February 2024.
Ishrat planned another trip in March 2024 but had to cancel it after Penny Appeal said there had been more delays.
According to the BBC, construction workers said in December 2023 that it would take at least another six months for the building to be completed.
For Ishrat, she wants to show her parents the completed orphanage.
However, they are unwell so is unsure if this will happen.
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