Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh is distancing himself from allegations that his niece Dr Sabrina Ramkissoon-Deonarine defrauded donors and sponsors of her popular SmearTT fund-raising walkathon.
“I have nothing to do with the event...Forward all questions to her,” he said.
Ramkissoon-Deonarine, the main player in the local SmearTT campaign, held the second walkathon on October 27—one week after the devastating floods swept almost half of Trinidad—but questions are being asked about the money raised from her maiden event in 2017.
At that time, while promoting the walkathon, Ramkissoon-Deonarine said that proceeds from the fund-raiser would go to the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society (TTCS). Checks with the organisation showed that no such donation was made.
A private citizen has referred Ramkissoon-Deonarine to the Fraud Squad for failing to provide funds from the last year’s event to the Society as promised. But a senior officer of the unit said on Saturday there was no ongoing probe into the claims being made.
The officer said while they can initiate an investigation based on an anonymous report, this proves difficult in building a case without a complainant.
A snapshot of a September 30 in the XX magazine featuring Dr Sabrina Ramkissoon-Deonarine.
Ramkissoon-Deonarine, an obstetrician/gynaecologist, confirmed that she did not make any donations to the T&T Cancer Society last year because the “paperwork” was never completed.
While Ramkissoon-Deonarine never directly responded to questions by Guardian Media, she posted a lengthy explanation on her Facebook page last Saturday (November 17).
The doctor is now weighing her legal options as she believes someone is out to tarnish her good name. Ramkissoon started the “Smearathon”, a walkathon to raise money and awareness of cervical cancer detection through pap smears, last year.
As it is right now, the two-year-old event is run, operated and managed only by Ramkissoon-Deonarine. It is unclear how the proceeds from the event and financial contributions were handled outside of her claim that she used Race Roster, an online platform to handle registration.
Ramkissoon-Deonarine said the accounts for the October 2018 fund-raiser are not yet completed and once done, would be provided to the “appropriate authorities”. She stated that the events associated with the fund-raiser were “not for the purpose of gain or profit.” Nor was it the intention to incorporate the charitable organisation to help the poor and sick, such as the Cancer Society and Red Cross, the doctor stated.
Requested documents
not provided to media
On November 9, Guardian Media made contact with Ramkissoon and provided her with a copy of the letter that was sent to the Fraud Squad as well as questions being raised by the anonymous, concerned cancer survivor. Ramkissoon-Deonarine said all her accounts were in order and confirmed that she had not given any of the money to any charity in 2017 but asked to be given until Friday, November 16, to respond to the questions asked by Guardian Media.
On November 13, she posted a lengthy message on her Facebook page saying she was feeling “severely attacked and victimised” despite her “continuous good-hearted effort” to raise awareness for cervical cancer. In that post, she said that she was born into a good moral home and also married into a “good, moral home”. She said the story was being pursued because “fake news sells”.
Ramkissoon-Deonarine, in that post said she would provide her “proof,” in the form of “accounts”, but only upon request. Ramkissoon-Deonarine requested a meeting with Guardian Media’s managing editor Julian Rogers and arrived at our Chaguanas office last Thursday accompanied by her father and mother-in-law former United National Congress councillor Shama Deonarine, all vouching for her good name.
Instead of abiding by the timeline she requested, Ramkissoon-Deonarine demanded another week to respond, and promised to provide the contact for her lawyers but never did.
She posted another long response on Facebook instead and emailed that same response to Guardian Media. She confirmed that that was her official response.
Doctor: Smear campaign against Smearathon
“In the event that there were excess monies after the event, such monies were to be distributed to preferably to an entity assisting persons suffering from cancer. I did communicate with the Cancer Society which responded that they needed more time to consider my proposal and to make a decision whether they would accept any donations arising out of the event,” Ramkissoon-Deonarine posted on Facebook.
However, the TTCS said they will always accept donations, and there is no need to consider proposals. The TTCS said they usually require potential donors to sign an application form before the event, but even if that is not done, the application can be filled out after the event.
The TTCS also said that if someone really wanted to contribute without the application form, they can do so through the Society’s Tree of Life, where the donor can purchase a leaf ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. Ramkissoon-Deonarine said after all expenses were paid, she ended up with some $8,000 which was put toward the event for 2018.
She did not provide any evidence to support her claim.
Dr Sabrina Ramkissoon-Deonarine who was featured on the cover of the Sunday Guardian XX magazine on September 30.
“Contrary to what is being stated/suggested by the anonymous concerned individual, after the Smearathon 2017, only $8,000 remained. Sponsorship/ contributions did not accord to the tune of hundreds of thousands let alone cumulatively surpass a total of more than a million dollars,” she said.
“Had we received approval from the Cancer Society in a timely manner that it would accept a contribution from the event, it would have been the said approximate sum of $8,000 nonetheless, this meagre sum was appreciated and applied to Smearathon 2018,” she said. She did not provide any details of the accounting that left her with an $8,000 profit or provide proof that that money indeed went toward the 2018 event.
Ramkissoon-Deonarine said as pressure mounted to do the second walkathon she met with lawyers and accountants and retained an event management team to help co-ordinate the walkathon. Those lawyers and accountants did not advise her to register as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) even though she was receiving contributions from the public and corporations. They also did not advise her to set up a committee to manage the fund-raiser.
“Steps towards incorporating a non-governmental organisation are being considered, however, with great hesitance as the aim of Smearathon was not to compare with other already existing organisations raising funds but simply to increase awareness amongst women locally,” she said.
“In the meantime, Smearathon has pledged a contribution of thirty-five thousand dollars to the (Associates of Radiotherapy Centre) ARC Foundation which already has a screening process to determine those in need (to obtain tests; to combat cancer via treatment) of funding etc. A contribution is also promised to the Ayana S Dyette Foundation. Ayana lost the battle to cervical cancer in 2018. Her family is thankful that we allowed them the opportunity to share her story and to share the importance of cervical cancer prevention. We also helped a few other cancer patients with their treatment expenses,” she said.