Financier gives away £50,000 to help fight the scourge of FGM

Wealthy Londoners have pledged tens of thousands of pounds to help fight female genital mutilation.

A millionaire hedge fund manager and an art dealer spoke today about why they are using their money to stamp out the practice.

Geoff Oldfield, the chief executive of Ennismore Fund Management in Kensington, gave £50,000 to the Orchid Project, a London charity that supports FGM education programmes in African villages.

“It was an emotional decision,” he said. “I gave more to Orchid than I would normally give to one charity because it pulled on my heartstrings.

“I have three daughters aged 13, 11 and eight and the thought that, in different circumstances, with a different background, they would be the ones getting this done to them is abhorrent.

“This issue does not get the publicity that it should. People do not know it is happening and compare it wrongly with male circumcision. There should be a lot of publicity and education about it.

“If young kids are done very early they can’t do anything about it. But with eight, nine and 10-year-olds, they might have an idea that it’s wrong. Really everyone should know about it. It’s about keeping it in the news and getting people trained.”

Art dealer Fred Mulder has also donated thousands of pounds to the London-based anti-FGM charity.

Much of the money goes towards education programmes in villages in Senegal where communities learn about human rights and the dangers of female genital mutilation. They decide themselves to abandon the practice and hold public declaration ceremonies to mark their decision.

Mr Mulder helped launch the Funding Network, a Dragon’s Den-style charitable organisation where charities are invited to give presentations to members, include millionaires and other less wealthy people.

The Funding Network has raised £5million for charity including £65,000 for the Orchid Project at a recent meeting.

“What I was interested in was the idea of getting enough women convinced in a set of villages that they would reach a tipping point in that community and then it spreads,” said Mr Mulder. “The other women will feel more able to go along with it and the societal pressure changes from pro to anti-cutting.

“For me, it is a mixture of a sense of moral obligation to address some of these terrible problems and a sense of privilege being able to do it. There is a real joy in being able to give to make a difference. It has enriched my life far more than it has cost me in financial terms.

“What keeps people from giving is often a kind of fear that the money won’t be used or they are somehow being flashy or more generous than other people. That’s why we do it quite publicly so people see some give a lot and some very little. It takes away the fear.”

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