25 years. Countless lives changed.
25 years. Countless lives changed.
We're grateful for the thousands of people across Canada and in communities around the world who have helped make a difference.
For over two decades, we’ve helped create significant, sustainable change around the world and at home. But we didn’t do it alone.
From the 2,500 current and former staff to the hundreds of thousands of students and teachers across Canada who devoted hours of their time to make a difference to the communities overseas that are still working tirelessly to transform their lives, this story is as much theirs as ours.
Throughout, we have always worked to the highest standards of integrity and accountability. This has been verified in multiple recent reports and reviews, conducted by renowned legal and forensic accounting experts. We invite you to read the reports below.
The largest charity review agency in North America, Charity Navigator, provided WE Charity a perfect four-star rating in 2020 and scored it a 96% on accountability and transparency (here).
It is unfortunate that the Fifth Estate choose to not include the voices of Canadian teachers and students who are part of the program or visit Kenya or any WE Charity global development sites to see first-hand and understand the subject matter of their reporting.
The projects speak for themselves. And, so do those voices. Although not an exhaustive list, WE Charity feels that Fifth Estate viewers should have access to the following important information:
WE Charity carefully matches donors with global development programs.
The Fifth Estate references a small number of funders who supported water programs in Kipsongol and questioned whether their support was greater than the cost of the borehole. WE Charity is disappointed that CBC did not include WE Charity’s clear explanation that the “Water Pillar” is more than building a borehole, and that it also includes fundraising for the additional elements of a pumping station, solar panels, piping through the village, distribution kiosks, latrines, hand-washing stations, and the establishment of a water management committee.
Over the past 25-years, generous donors have enabled clean water projects assisting more than one million people. Our approach has always been to provide them with a first-hand connection, and we are pleased to have welcomed tens of thousands of supporters to travel to the development programs and see their impact. As part of WE Charity’s commitment to transparency and third-party review, forensic auditor Dr. Al Rosen has reviewed WE Charity’s donor matching system and confirmed that it is of the highest integrity.
WE Charity is proud of the Women’s Empowerment Center in Narok, Kenya.
This project was led by Kenyans and designed to meet the preferences of local women, including the kitchen built with stone masonry and plumbing, and the dining area. The Fifth Estate questioned the contents of the kitchen. WE Charity is disappointed that the Fifth Estate did not include its very clear explanation that most of the women served by WE Charity in rural Kenya do not have electricity in their homes, and therefore their kitchens are sparse in comparison to those in North America with appliances. WE Charity is grateful that the donor and local women remain deeply engaged with this important program.
WE Charity is grateful to all of our partners who have made our programs free for millions of children.
Across Canada, millions of youths from diverse socio-economic backgrounds in 7,000 schools have benefited from free educational resources in service-learning, youth mental health, and leadership opportunities. In Africa, Asia, and Latin America, our global development programs provide critical access to clean water, healthcare, and education, which have collectively benefited over one million children and family members. WE Charity has a five-part vetting process for corporate partners, and our sponsorship model has been designed with and reviewed by leading experts (here).
A few of the important voices who have spoken up about the facts. Watch below.
The Director of Programs talks about the impact in Kenya
A look at what the loss of WE Charity will mean in Kenya
Former Deputy Solicitor General for Ontario defends WE Charity
Our global and local impacts
1 MILLION PEOPLE RECEIVED CLEAN WATER
through community-led projects(Global impact)
Some of the remarkable stories behind the impacts
Her journey to becoming an entrepreneur & role model
Mamas sing the praises of Baraka Hospital in rural Kenya
A community school in Chicago fights gun violence with peace
Helping to break the cycle of poverty & addiction in her community
We believe in accountability and transparency
Below are reports and resources that we hope will be helpful in answering any further questions you might have.
• An open letter from Scott Baker, WE Charity’s COO, on frequently asked questions can be found here.
• Facts and Fallacies about WE and the Canadian Student Service Grant (CSSG): read more here.
• There have been significant misrepresentations made about the selection of WE Charity to administer the CSSG program. To provide a clear evaluation, two independent reports were prepared by Former Deputy Solicitor General Matt Torigian and Forensic Accountant Dr. Al Rosen, a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and a specialist in Investigative and Forensic Accounting (CA-IFA). You can find a summary and their full reports here.
• Much has been asked about various aspects of WE Charity and the Kielburger family. Find all the answers and responses here.
• If you would like to learn more about how WE works internationally, visit our WE Villages page.
• Visit the transparency section on our website here.