An ex-police officer has allegedly convinced celebrities into donating money to his charity with stories of homeless children, saved from human traffickers, whose authenticity has been disputed.
Adam Whittington founded Project Rescue Children (PRC) in 2017, which claims to have helped more than 700 children in countries including Ukraine, Kenya and The Gambia.
But a BBC investigation has now claimed that some of these children were never trafficked, and that the donations given did not reach the children they promised to help.
The PRC rejects these claims as ‘baseless allegations’.
Adam Whittington founded Project Rescue Children (PRC) in 2017, which claimed to have helped more than 700 children in countries including Ukraine, Kenya and The Gambia
Mr Whittington is believed to have started working in child rescue about twenty years ago, after he left his role as an officer with the Metropolitan Police
The charity, which has amassed over 1.5million followers acoss social media, has been endorsed by high profile celebrities, including Premier League footballers, Labyrinth and Sam Faiers
Mr Whittington is believed to have started working in child rescue about twenty years ago, after he left his role as an officer with the Metropolitan Police.
He set up a company retrieving children taken abroad by a parent following a custody dispute, but later switched his attention to children who have been trafficked or abused.
The charity, which has amassed over 1.5million followers across its social medias, has been endorsed by many high profile celebrities, including Premier League footballers and singer Labyrinth.
It also boasted having Sam Faiers, from ITV’s The Only Way is Essex, as an ambassador for the organisation. They took her out to Uganda to meet some orphaned and destitute children last September.
While there, Sam appealed to her millions of fans to donate and ended up raising £137,000 to build a rescue centre and cover its running costs for an initial period.
While there, Sam appealed to her millions of fans to donate and ended up raising £137,000 to build a rescue centre and cover its running costs for an initial period
In the weeks after Sam Faiers’ total was announced, allegations began popping up on social media about PRC, with former ambassadors and directors alleging financial mismanagement and disputing some stories about the children
Mama Jane was allegedly a fake name used by the PRC. The BBC report claims Mama Jane was in fact an elderly lady called Jane Gori. Mrs Gori said she had no idea that her name, her house and her photograph were being used by PRC
In the weeks after Sam Faiers’ total was announced, allegations began popping up on social media about PRC, with former ambassadors and directors alleging financial mismanagement and disputed some of the stories about the children.
Only £58,000 of the money which donors believed would fund the construction and running costs of the proposed rescue centre, was sent to PRC’s Ugandan partner organisation, Make a Child Smile.
Its founder, Alexander Ssembatya, who has apologised to donors, told the BBC he believed the rest of the money had been ‘eaten by Adam Whittington and PRC’.
He added that construction work was on hold because of a lack of funds.
Sam Faiers told the BBC she was ‘deeply appalled’ and ‘heartbroken’ to learn that not all the funds raised had reached the children and urged Mr Whittington to ‘do the right thing and release the remainder of the funds immediately to where they are so desperately needed’.
PRC said the money provided was sufficient to complete construction of the rescue centre, and told the BBC it had now withdrawn from the project, accusing Mr Ssembatya of refusing to sign a contract and mismanaging funds. It said the remaining money had been spent on other children in Uganda and the Philippines.
In April 2024, a BBC team, escorted by a police officer, found the property – supposedly run by a woman called Mama Jane.
Only £58,000 of the money which donors believed would fund the construction and running costs of the proposed rescue centre, was sent to PRC’s Ugandan partner organisation, Make a Child Smile
The team also met nearby farmer called Joseph, whose two sons and a granddaughter have featured on the PRC website, described as orphaned, homeless, or victims of trafficking or exploitation. However, none of this turned out to be true
They discovered Mama Jane was an elderly lady called Jane Gori, who lived in the house with her husband. She didn’t find any children, rescued or otherwise.
But the team did find out that her son, Kupa Gori, was PRC’s director in Kenya and that he had brought Mr Whittington to visit her home.
Mr Whittington uses pictures of improvement work PRC has funded at Mrs Gori’s house to convince donors he is running a rescue centre. Mrs Gori said she had no idea that her name, her house and her photograph were being used by PRC.
The team also met nearby farmer called Joseph, whose two sons and a granddaughter have featured on the PRC website, described as orphaned, homeless, or victims of trafficking or exploitation. However, none of this turned out to be true.
Not long after the photographs were taken in 2020, Joseph’s son Eugene died. But his picture remained online until at least February this year. According to PRC’s website, people continued to sponsor him.
Joseph says he has never received any money from PRC, adding: ‘It pains my heart that someone is using the photos of my child for money we did not get personally.’
The PRC said it stands by its claim that Jane Gori’s home is a PRC rescue centre that cares for children. It said that all funds for work carried out there were submitted to the Australian Charity Commission. It did not respond to questions about the misuse of photographs of Joseph’s family.