Project Concern International

{{Infobox organization

| name = Project Concern International

| logo = Project Concern International Logo.jpg

| website = {{url|https://www.pciglobal.org/}}

| type = International NGO

}}

PCI (Project Concern International) is a non-profit, humanitarian NGO based in San Diego, California. PCI reaches nearly 19 million people a year through programs in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.{{cite web| url = http://www.pciglobal.org/financial-info| title = Financial Information| access-date = 2016-06-21| date = 2016-06-21}}

PCI's programs address a broad range of topics including food security, gender equity, water and sanitation, economic development, climate change, agriculture, education, health, and emergency response. In March 2022, agreed to pay $537,500 to the United States Agency for International Development to resolve claims that it knowingly submitted false financial claims to the agency. [https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/project-concern-international-global-health-non-profit-organization-agrees-pay-537500]

History

PCI was founded in 1961. In 1961, a young doctor from living in San Diego James Wesley Turpin, had an ambition to live a meaningful life of helping people and learned of a clinic in Tijuana that needed help and there he saved the lives of two small children who were dying of pneumonia.{{cite news

|author= James Wesley Turpin

| title =Lenten Guideposts - The only way to belong to life

| newspaper =Ironwood Daily Globe

| location =Ironwood, Michigan

| page =6

| date =16 March 1967

| url =http://www.newspapers.com/clip/1837052/guidepost_article_by_james_turpin/

| access-date = Feb 22, 2015}} This experience led Turpin to found Project Concern when he realized it took more than one caring doctor in one place. From there he learned of the challenges in Hong Kong and from there he learned of the challenges in Vietnam. He published two books detailing and expanding the commentary on the work.* {{cite book|author1=James W. Turpin|author2=Albert Hirshberg|title=Vietnam doctor: the story of Project Concern|url=https://archive.org/details/vietnamdoctorsto00turp|url-access=registration|year=1966|publisher=McGraw-Hill}}

{{cite book|author1=James W. Turpin|author2=Albert Hirshberg|title=A Faraway Country: The Continuing Story of Project Concern|url=https://archive.org/details/farawaycountryco00turp|url-access=registration|year=1970|publisher=World Publishing Company}} Along the way he was assisted in fundraising for the project* {{cite news

| title =Jim Beatty of L. A. Youngest of 10 'Outstanding Young Men of 1962'

| newspaper =Independent Press-Telegram

| location =Long Beach, California

| page =6

| date =30 Dec 1962

| url =http://www.newspapers.com/clip/1828239/james_w_turpin_in_list_of_us_junior/

| access-date = Feb 22, 2015}}

{{cite news

| title =Jaycees pick top 10 prominent young men

| newspaper =The La Crosse Tribune

| location =La Crosse, Wisconsin

| page =1

| date =30 Dec 1962

| url =http://www.newspapers.com/clip/1828308/james_w_turpin_pictured_ap_echo/

| access-date = Feb 22, 2015}}

{{cite news

| title =10 outstanding young men get Jaycee awards

| newspaper =Northwest Arkansas Times

| location =Fayetteville, Arkansas

| page =2

| date =21 Jan 1963

| url =http://www.newspapers.com/clip/1828406/james_w_turpin_wins_jaycee_award_ap/

| access-date = Feb 22, 2015}}

{{cite news

| title =Jaycee 'Honor-Men' press for stiff civil rights plan

| newspaper =Utica Daily Observer

| location =Utica, New York

| page =11

| date =June 26, 1963

| url =http://www.fultonhistory.com/Newpapers%20Disk2/Utica%20NY%20Daily%20Observer/Utica%20NY%20Observer%201963.pdf/Utica%20NY%20Observer%201963%20a%20-%200446.PDF

| access-date = Feb 22, 2015}}

{{cite news

| title =Jaycees seek rights stand

| newspaper =Niagara Falls Gazette

| location =Niagara Falls, New York

| page =41

| date =June 26, 1963

| url =http://www.fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%208/Niagara%20Falls%20NY%20Gazette/Niagara%20Falls%20NY%20Gazette%201963%20Jun%20Grayscale/Niagara%20Falls%20NY%20Gazette%201963%20Jun%20Grayscale%20-%200816.pdf

| access-date = Feb 22, 2015}} and other doctors working in the clinics. Project Concern began to provide services in more and more places - Hong Kong, Vietnam, Appalachia, Navajo lands - with an internationally diverse personnel.{{cite news

| title =Doctor helps refugees

| newspaper =The Amarillo Globe-Times

| location =Amarillo, Texas

| page =9

| date =5 Aug 1965

| url =http://www.newspapers.com/clip/1836913/james_turpin_in_project_concern/

| access-date = Feb 22, 2015}} And Turpin's work would come to be recognized in later years.{{cite web

| title =Honorary Membership presented to ARCOA International Humanity Service award winners

| publisher =American Red Cross Overseas Association

| url =http://www.arcoa-web.org/honorary-memberships.html

| access-date =Feb 23, 2014

| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150224160122/http://www.arcoa-web.org/honorary-memberships.html

| archive-date =February 24, 2015

| url-status =dead

}}* {{cite web

|author=Maria Lameiras

| title =From Rural Roots, Reaching around the World

| publisher =Emory University

| date =Spring 2011

| url =http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_MAGAZINE/issues/2011/spring/register/turpin.html

| access-date = Feb 20, 2015 }}

{{cite web

|author=Maria Lameiras

| title =Advocates for the Disadvantaged - 2011 Emory Medalists improve lives through law, medicine

| publisher =Emory University

| date =Winter 2012

| url =http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_MAGAZINE/issues/2012/winter/register/medalists.html

| access-date = Feb 20, 2015 }} In 1974 Turpin gave up being general director of PCI though he's continued to work the same kinds of care in his other endeavors{{cite news|author=Noel Osment|date=March 10, 1986|title=The doctor still shows his heartfelt concern|page=D1|newspaper=The San Diego Union|location=San Diego, California}}{{cite news

| title =Doctor invited back to Vietnam after sixteen years

| newspaper =Star-News

| location =Wilmington, North Carolina

| page =11(4C)

| date =Nov 28, 1988

| url =http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19881128&id=Pb8sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uyYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4395,7000896

| access-date = Feb 23, 2015}}{{cite news |author=Bruce Henderson

| title =Asheville doctor's mission in Vietnam still a part of his life

| newspaper =Herald-Journal

| location = Spartanburg, South Carolina

| page =7(B3)

| date =Dec 6, 1993

| url =http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19931206&id=_TQfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ic8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,2062419

| access-date = Feb 23, 2015}}{{cite news

| title =Doctor brightens the lives of many

| newspaper =North Carolina Department of Correction News

| date =October 1999

| url =http://www.doc.state.nc.us/NEWS/1999/99releases/doc.htm

| access-date = Feb 23, 2015

| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20010210203747/http://www.doc.state.nc.us/NEWS/1999/99releases/doc.htm

| archive-date = February 10, 2001}} and some of the work, for example in Vietnam,{{cite news

| title =Ardmore man raises memorial to dead US soldiers

| newspaper =The Daily Intelligencer

| location =Doylestown, Pennsylvania

| page =5

| date =20 Feb 1969

| url =http://www.newspapers.com/clip/1832241/james_turpin_project_concern_supported/

| access-date = Feb 22, 2015}}{{cite journal

| title =Post built hospital in Vietnam

| journal =The American Legion

| volume = 137

| issue = 6

| page =43

| publisher = American Legion National Headquarters

| date =December 1994

| url =https://archive.org/stream/americanlegionvo1376amer#page/44/mode/1up/

| issn =0886-1234

| access-date = Feb 23, 2015 }} has survived. Turpin continued to help with fundraising for PCI into 2002.{{cite news

| title =Generous Hands Aid Project Concern's Annual Fundraising Efforts

| newspaper =La Prensa-San Diego

| location =San Diego, California

| date =December 13, 2002

| url =http://laprensa-sandiego.org/archieve/december13-02/aid.htm

| access-date = Feb 23, 2015}}

PCI is headquartered in San Diego with offices in Washington, D.C., and employs more than 900 people around the world, 83 percent of whom are host country nationals.

In 2018, PCI impacted the lives of 10 million people around the world.

{{cite web

| url = https://www.pciglobal.org/AR2018/

| title = 2018 Annual Report

| access-date = 2019-07-01

| date = 2019-07-01

}}

Projects

=Health=

In 2018, more than 1.4 million community members participated in peer/self-help groups to improve health and nutrition behaviors. That same year, PCI reached 25,314 orphans and vulnerable children to improve their health and well-being.

{{cite web

| url = https://www.pciglobal.org/enhancing-health/

| title = Enhancing Health

| access-date = 2019-07-01

| date = 2019-07-01

}}

=Food security=

More than 18,135,000 nutritious meals were served to over 220,000 primary school children through PCI's school-based programs in 2018.

{{cite web

| url = https://www.pciglobal.org/ending-hunger/

| title = End Hunger

| access-date = 2019-07-01

| date = 2019-07-01

}}

=Disaster relief=

In 2018, 930,172 people benefited from PCI's risk reduction and resilience programming globally. The organization also completed a post-project sustainability study of post-earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, determining that neighborhood-level infrastructure continued to make a significant impact on the community and its recovery.

{{cite web

| url = https://www.pciglobal.org/overcoming-hardship/

| title = Overcoming Hardship

| access-date = 2019-07-01

| date = 2019-07-01

}}

Accusations of Fraud

In March 2022, Project Concern International agreed to pay $537,500 to the United States Agency for International Development as a result of "improperly shifting costs between projects, and sometimes using USAID grant funds to cover for privately-funded projects." The fraudulent activity took place between 2014 and 2016. As reported in the Department of Justice press release on the topic: "Specifically, once grant funding for one assistance project was depleted, PCI supervisors would instruct its employees to bill their time or other costs to separate and unrelated USAID grant projects that had money remaining in their accounts, even though those employees did not work on that project. PCI then certified to USAID that it used the grant funds only as allowed under each project."{{Cite web |date=2022-03-10 |title=Project Concern International, a Global Health Non-Profit Organization, Agrees to Pay $537,500 to Resolve False Claims Act Action |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/project-concern-international-global-health-non-profit-organization-agrees-pay-537500 |access-date=2022-06-20 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en}}