UK based mom, daughter fake poverty to seek assistance from Chin’ono

Veteran Zimbabwean investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono (pictured) has taken a swipe at some people who make false claims in order to get assistance.

Chin’ono’s sentiments comes after a family allegedly contacted him seeking his help claiming to be poverty stricken.

He writes:

A young lady got in touch with me via WhatsApp asking for assistance, the mum followed suit via WhatsApp too pleading poverty.

 

I shared her qualifications, and someone wanted to help but decided to do a due diligence check on her.

 

Her parents are in the UK, working as qualified nurses, and they have property in both the UK and Zimbabwe. Yet they shamefully wanted to pretend that they are poor so that their child gets a free pass.

 

Two nurses in the UK can send a child to study medicine in Zimbabwe, it costs only US$19,000 for the whole six year programme including accommodation at the UZ.

 

But they wanted to steal that which they have ana deny a deserving candidate assistance.

 

This is evil, Zimbabweans. Why try to take something that a person who is genuinely poor needs?
I am disappointed, and you know what this does; the people who fund these bright kids will end up giving up.

 

One of them said to me we might have to revisit how this is done, blocking opportunities for others who truly need them.

 

So, starting from today, all assistance requests should be sent to hopewell@journalist.com.

 

No more WhatsApp messages and no more emails to my regular address. Use the one I have put up that will be dedicated to that issue alone.

 

If you send a request for assistance via social media inbox or my regular email, it will not be responded to.

 

My WhatsApp is now only for people giving me news tips and whistle blowers and other professional stuff not requests for funding, for that you use hopewell@journalist.com and I will forward the email to the right people.

 

If I don’t respond, it means nobody has taken it up.

 

Thank you.