American skateboarder Jason Vanporppal, whose remarkable 5,900km skateboarding journey from Uganda to Cape Town captured international attention, has alleged that R25,000 raised for a children’s skatepark project was stolen.
Jason Vanporppal/Facebook
Vanporppal completed the cross-continent expedition to raise funds for Uganda’s first permanent public skatepark, a community initiative aimed at creating safe recreational spaces for disadvantaged children.
However, the skater says the fundraising campaign has suffered a setback after a sponsorship payment intended for the project allegedly never reached its destination.
In a video shared on social media, Vanporppal claimed a woman who had volunteered to assist with securing sponsorships received a R25,000 payment from a brand partner but failed to transfer the funds to the campaign’s GoFundMe account. According to Vanporppal, the woman acted as an intermediary between him and the sponsor.
The American skater said he trusted the volunteer and believed she was genuinely committed to helping the project succeed.
“I trusted her with my heart. I trusted her with everything,” he said in the video.
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Vanporppal stressed that the allegations are not directed at the sponsoring company or at supporters who helped make his journey across Africa possible, including the Winnie Babaso Foundation and other campaign partners.
He alleged that after the sponsorship payment was made, he received repeated explanations for why the money had not yet been transferred, including illness and the theft of a cellphone. He said he initially accepted the explanations because he believed the volunteer genuinely cared about the cause.
The skateboarder also claimed the woman had approached additional companies in an effort to secure future sponsorships for the initiative.
In the video, Vanporppal gave the woman 24 hours to return the funds, stating that he would publicly identify her if the money was not repaid.
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Despite the alleged setback, Vanporppal’s campaign to build Uganda’s first public skatepark continues to attract support from people inspired by his extraordinary journey across the African continent.
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