George Bush and Patrick Atkinson
In 1983, Patrick Atkinson, aged 23, was running the Guatemala operation of Father Ritter's Covenant House - Casa Alianza.
Patrick Atkinson became the founder and executive director of the God's Child Project, a charitable organization that provides health and medical care, food, and education to children in Guatamala.
Reportedly they then made statements that suggested that Atkinson misused funds and molested children.
Atkinson v. McLaughlin | Digital Media Law Project
 Atkinson (right) The following is from: Nuestros Ahijados/ The God`s Child Project, and was written some time ago: The God's Child Project, run by Patrick Atkinson in Antigua, Guatemala. "After speaking with many people currently or formerly associated with the program, in my opinion, this program is accountable neither to the families it purports to serve nor to its donors, who are largely well-intended citizens in and around Bismarck, North Dakota, Mr. Atkinson's home base.  "With a budget of over $900,000, he has wielded inordinate power over the families in his program and the town of Antigua. Based in Guatemala, his program is never audited by his funding organization in Bismarck.  Wetterer. "No one can even vouch for the number of families served, since no independent auditor has ever matched the paper work, in person, to the families. "While claims of 2500 families served have been made in Bismarck, a program participant in Antigua expressed concern to me that Pat Atkinson had claimed to serve 100 families but actually only served 50. "No one knows." "Though GCP's 2003-2004 IRS filing shows reduced funding to $275,000, the program continues to claim services to 2500 children, with expansion into health services and into Malawi in Africa."  Atkinson (right) "Some Questions About the God's Child Project Worth Asking Children and Sponsors "How many of the children that Patrick claims are in the program are actually enrolled in school? "Which teen-aged boys are in the program and not going to school, but are somehow employed by Patrick?  God's Child Project"Why does Patrick's adopted son, Ernesto, have two godparents or sponsors, including a North American sponsor, and Yolanda Cofiño, the McDonalds franchise holder in Guatemala? "According to the September 1998 monthly newsletter of the GOD'S CHILD Project, there are hundreds of boys and girls who do not have a sponsor. "How many children not attending school have U.S. sponsors? Are the sponsors informed when a child drops out of school? "Why does Patrick get so angry whenever anyone asks him about numbers of children in the program?  God's Child Project Performance in School "Patrick has claimed in a letter, dated October 1, 1997, to a sponsor that 4% of the children in the program were school valedictorians and an additional 45% would qualify as honors students. Who are these children? "How many children failed the school year in 1997? How many children failed the 1998 school year? Why did these children fail if they are enrolled in a program whose motto is to break the chains of poverty through education? Are sponsors informed when their godchild fails the year?  Patrick Atkinson "How many children receiving financial assistance from the program's sponsors simply cannot read? "Some children enrolled in the program drop out of school because they can't afford textbooks. Does it make sense for the program to pay the tuition fees, provide school supplies, and uniform money but not provide money for textbooks that the children cannot afford? "Isn't it a large waste of sponsor's money to pay for children to start school but then not give them all the tools they need to continue?  God's Child project - Dressed in rags? Health Care "Patrick writes that health care is provided for 3100 family members of children in the program. What health care is actually provided? "Which children in the program are malnourished? What is being done to address this problem? "How many of the children in the program are actually at the appropriate weight and height for their age? "How many of the children in the program have received the appropriate childhood vaccinations? "If 50% of the boys and 90% of the girls in the program have been sexually abused, as Patrick insists, why has he not acted to hire a trained counselor to provide some therapy for these children? Community Development "What does Patrick mean when he refers to community development in his solicitations for funds?  Treatment of Volunteers "Does the board of directors of the God's Child Project have a list of the volunteers who have been dismissed by Patrick? "Why have a number of volunteers been dismissed? "Why have so many volunteers left the project early? "Patrick has driven good people from the project because of his dishonesty and totalitarian manner. Patrick has no tolerance for ideas from other people and is clearly not open to differences of opinion. "Is the board of directors planning to warn new volunteer applicants about Patrick's abusive behavior? "Why was a volunteer with fund-raising experience fired by Patrick when the volunteer was unable to account for 25% of the money donated to the God's Child Project? "Will volunteers from the United States be informed that they will be volunteering with La Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados (sponsored by the God's Child Project)? "Will volunteers be made to understand that if they have any grievance with Patrick or his project, the volunteers will not have access to the U.S. board members of the God's Child Project for resolution of the problem?  In this 1984 photograph, GOD'S CHILD Project founder Patrick Atkinson is seen holding a malnourished child he has just rescued from a massacred village in the violence-torn war zones of Guatemala. Father Thomas Kramer Building "Why did Patrick tolerate the operation of a gay nightclub in the Father Thomas Kramer Building constructed with donor funds and volunteer labor? "Why did Patrick allow the people running this gay nightclub to get behind in the rent by many months leading to a loss of over $20,000? "Allegedly, it took a petition signed by 400 neighbors in the neighborhood around the Father Thomas Kramer Building to get the nightclub shut down? "Do the board members know that the building was jokingly refered to in Antigua by the publisher of a newsletter for ex-patriates as, 'Patrick's Disco'?  Facial expression? Protection of the Children "What rules and regulations must child care agencies follow in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin with regards to the prevention and detection of sexual abuse of children in their care? "Are these rules and regulations being followed by the God's Child Project which receives donations and volunteers from the United States? "Are regular workshops on the prevention, detection, and reporting of sexual abuse of children given to the staff and volunteers? "Have board members read the book by F.B.I. Special Agent, Kenneth V. Lanning, Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis, available from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children? "Why doesn't the project provide psychological counseling for those children in need of it?  Atkinson Casa Alianza Days "Have all the board members read the Kroll report? "Have any of the board members asked Patrick about the $29,000 of Covenant House contributions that the director of one of the subsidiaries of Covenant House used to purchase a home for two young male prostitutes? "Have all the board members read Charles Sennott's, Broken Covenant? "Have any board members followed up on the stories about photos of nude boys taken at Casa Alianza in Antigua supposedly to document malnutrition?  God's child project Oversight Responsibility of the Board of Directors "Has the board insisted that staff members of the God's Child Project/Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados, including the founder and executive director, undergo a psychological evaluation in order to assess their fitness to work with children? "Why are the children in some clearly economically stable families still being sponsored by the program? "Have the board members read the newspaper articles regarding the accusation filed against Patrick for sexually abusing a deaf-mute boy in the program? "Have the board members of the God's Child Project actually investigated this accusation or have they simply accepted Patrick's explanation? "Are board members aware of the $119 million settlement against the Diocese of Dallas because the diocese knowingly failed to control a pedophile priest? "Are board members aware of the multi-million dollar settlements being paid by the B.S.A. to Boy Scouts who have been sexually abused by their scout leaders? "John Wetterer was recently found guilty of mail fraud because he was representing his project for boys in Guatemala City as a healthy and stable environment when, in fact, he was physically and sexually abusing the boys in his care. "Will that decision change any of the fund-raising approaches of the God's Child Project?" Nuestros Ahijados/ The God`s Child Project |
COVENANT HOUSE AND CHILD SEX
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