Minister Fahy Restores ADHT Charity Status

August 25, 2013

The African Diaspora Heritage Trail [ADHT] Bermuda Foundation said they have had their status as a charitable organization restored upon appeal to the Minister of Home Affairs Michael Fahy.

The ADHT said Minister Fahy cited the “fact that the Foundation is beneficial to the Bermuda public as part of his reasons for overturning an earlier decision by the Charities Commission to deny the ADHT Foundation’s application.”

In a letter dated 19 June, the Charities Commission advised that the Foundation would no longer be recognized as a charity because the commissioners did not believe that the ADHT relied on the Bermuda public for a substantial amount of its funds.

However, the Foundation appealed this decision, outlining a fund-raising plan and stressing the importance of maintaining charitable status in order to carry out its mandate.

After considering the appeal, the ADHT said the Minister overruled the Charities Commission and granted the Foundation charity status for one year beginning 7 August.

“I am persuaded by the representations in the Appeal that there is a satisfactory plan in place for the Foundation to seek substantial funds from members of the public to continue its ongoing work,” said Sen. Fahy in his letter to the ADHT Bermuda Foundation Chairman, Maxine Esdaille

The ADHT Bermuda Foundation was established in 2007 to educate locals and visitors and to safeguard the core values and creativity of African cultures and history. It is run by a Board of Directors comprising local and international volunteers.

The Foundation aims to provide inspiring educational experiences and produce quality cultural products that expose visitors to authentic African Diaspora history and culture, and motivate local populations to become active participants in the preservation and dissemination of their history and culture, the Home Affairs Minister noted in his letter.

“It is therefore clear that the Foundation is beneficial to the public in general,” he wrote.

The ADHT Bermuda Foundation has expressed it gratitude to the Minister, as well as the government and people of Bermuda, particularly the Ministry of Tourism, for their support.

“We wish to thank Sen. The Hon. Michael Fahy for extending the Foundation’s charity status and for recognizing our role in the development of Bermuda and the African Diaspora,” said Chairman Maxine Esdaille.

“We are also thankful to the Government and People of Bermuda for supporting the Foundation from the very beginning. Our eternal gratitude goes to the Ministry of Tourism which provides the bulk of funding and which has promised to continue to make a donation as long as we remain a charity. We look forward to successfully executing our strategic plan, leading to a reduction of our reliance on the Ministry.”

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Comments (5)

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  1. Alvin Williams says:

    Well I often don’t have much good to say about the OBA government; but the decision to restore the ADHT Charity Status is a good policy decision; for it we are going to acknowledge the history of Bermuda; than all of that history must be acknowledge; A task that the ADHT does very well; especially in regard to the inclusion of the black Bermudian in that history.

  2. tax payer says:

    in what way does it benefit Bermuda?

    it’s a crock of S*** and an excuse to get money for nothing out of the public.

    • kat says:

      You are a crock of sh** your self!

      • tax payer says:

        you must be one of the people getting money from the government for this…!

    • Concerned Citizen says:

      Smh! Must be from the caves deep in eastern Europe! Anyway, credit to the OBA for this step,…..