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Brangelina's Namibian IOU
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FORGET ME NOT Jolie and friends
While the Brangelina caravan moves on to India (leaving manhandled stalkerazzos in its wake) all is not well in Namibia, where a recent visit to the Mondesa Resettlement Community by a British TV crew proved revealing. Back in June, to commemorate baby Shiloh's entrance into the world, the Jolie-Pitts pledged $315,000 to a local pre-school and the maternity wards at the Swakopmund and Walvis Bay hospitals.

While a $15,000 cash pledge was reportedly given to the Democratic Resettlement Community pre-school before the duo retreated to Malibu, when the UK morning gabfest GMTV arrived in September to film a short spot on the couple's Namibian love-fest, they found administrators who felt the couple had failed to make good on their promised largesse.

A source connected with the shoot confirmed that the Headmistress of the DRC school was visibly upset off-camera, and claimed her students had been abandoned by the high-profile humanitarians. "Either they have a really shoddy accountant, or they are promising things in the moment that they have no intention of delivering. The children at this school have been left waiting for money that has never arrived," says the source.

Robert Myres, a spokesman for the Mondesa Youth Organization, a local charity untouched by the couple's munificence, says, "It is not clear to me if [the DRC School] received the money or not, but I can say that if they did, it is not apparent. The pre-school looks exactly as it has since it was built a few years ago—there has been no apparent upgrades or additions to the facility."

Perhaps inevitably, the Jolie-Pitt's generous promises of cash have left a number of local organizations confused about their intentions and frustrated by the seemingly arbitrary nature of the pledges. "I did find it ironic that Angelina had her baby two blocks from our facilities and did not at least look into the Mondesa Youth Organization before deciding where to donate. MYO is far more efficient, credible, and effective than any other organization on the coast of Namibia. It would be impossible to spend time in the area and not be aware of our programs, so I was disheartened to know that they were right there and did not come see what we are doing."

GMTV aired its final report on Brangelina's Namibian adventures last Thursday, focusing on the swanky beach resort where the couple stayed, and featuring GMTV presenter Lorraine Kelly releasing a cheetah into the wild. DRC teacher Queen Elizabeth Mipenda told the interviewer that a full year's tuition costs around £80 ($140 US), meaning the school needs around £3,000 ($5,280 US) a year to keep it going. As of press time, the school was still waiting.

A rep for Jolie and Pitt did not return calls.

UPDATE: Ivanna Iafigliola-Kriner, co-founder of the DRC School Project Centre, emails Radar to say Angelina and Brad are no welchers. "The donation did take some time to reach us but I can assure you that we have received the funds," she says. As to why the school (which is not a pre-school, as reported, but a bridging school, meaning it helps previously unschooled children integrate into the school system) appears unchanged, Lagiliola-Kriner says the donation was earmarked for teachers' salaries.

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By FI Staff   10/09/06 3:15 PM
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