Obert Madondo's August 17 2010 APPEAL To CAP AIDS Board

Below is Obert Madondo’s August 17 appeal to the board of directors of the Canada Africa
Partnership on AIDS (CAP AIDS), to address the organization’s exploitative work environment
and other issues. On Friday, August 18, the CAP AIDS board reacted by firing Obert from his
position as Executive Director.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Please note that this e-mail is rather long... I have attached the word version! Also, my discussion is
uncharacteristically frank!

Dear CAP AIDS Director,

Greetings!

When I took over as Executive Director in May 2008, CAP AIDS was a sinking ship. The organization was
in a fragile financial situation. My report to the CAP AIDS Board Meeting of July 11, 2008, indicated that
CAP AIDS’ near-future expected income was $90 535.00, against unavoidable operational program costs
amounting to $82 166.00. There were no prospects for immediate future institutional funding. CAP AIDS
was homeless, after being unceremoniously kicked out of the previous office leased from the outgoing
Executive Director’s friend, also a former CAP AIDS Director.

This unfortunate situation was partly a consequence of the fallout between the CAP AIDS Board and the
Executive Director, and the Board’s apparent lack of foresight. Earlier in March, the Board had approved
a highly misleading budget for 2008-09. The fundraising figures in the budget were deliberately inflated
to give the impression that CAP AIDS would grow its fundraising revenues from $370 000 in 2007-08 to
$470 000 in 2008-09.

A more truthful budget would have given a figure much lower than the 2007-08 one. There was no
institutional funding on the horizon. Some elements of the budget were highly questionable. For
example: Break the Silence ($50 000); Corporate Donations ($25 000); Bike for Humanity ($50 000);
Vancouver Foundation ($5 000); Harbinger Foundation ($5 000) and Ontario Trillium Foundation ($5
000). As you may already know, I alerted the Board to these questionable projections in April 2008 and,
subsequently, the 2008-09 budget was significantly revised to reflect reality.

However, a hurtful blame game has dominated the reporting and interpretation of the CAP AIDS
financial situation in the last two years. Directors have consistently tried to blame me for the decline in
fundraising revenues in the last two years. They have noticeably avoided mentioning the following
contributing factors:
Downturn in the global (and Canadian) economy, which created difficult fundraising climate, in the past
18 months
Declining attention being paid to AIDS in Africa by the Western public and governments
CAP AIDS lack of a major institutional donor (ie CIDA)
CAP AIDS’ overwhelming workload and staffing crisis

Today, CAP AIDS is back on its feet and stable. The organization now has a new, affordable and
accessible office and a new 3-year project funded by CIDA. The CAP AIDS website has been overhauled
and now more accurately reflects the organization’s activities and accomplishments in Africa and
Canada. A draft 3-year plan has been developed to guide the organisation forward. More than 160
essential documents/tools have been developed. At least 100 CAP AIDS documents/tools were updated.
The organization has embraced the social media with new fundraising-friendly communications tools –
Facebook Page, Twitter Account, YouTube account and Flick. In late 2009, the Executive Director
introduced a new scale-up approach to CAP AIDS events/campaign, starting with the 2009 World AIDS
Day event.

All these milestones came against the backdrop of a shrinking human resource base, and sky-rocketing
organizational expectations. CAP AIDS effectively ceased to be an organization that can be realistically
run by one employee in 2006. In the summer of 2007, the organization almost fulfilled its staff
requirements - with 4 part time employees (ED, Program Coordinator, and 2 Summer Students).
Additionally, the organization hired 2 contracted event coordinators.

By the time I took over as Executive Director in 2008, CAP AIDS’ staff compliment had sharply declined
to 1 full-time employee (Executive Director). I hired one, 7-week Summer Student intern and one paid
B2CA contractor. From May 2008 to December 2008, I was responsible for:
Fundraising (fundraising events and Direct Mail campaigns);
Volunteer Development and Coordination
Public Engagement
Governance/Board Support
Development & Management of Organizational Structure
Communications and Public Relations
Programs (project proposals, project management, project reporting)
Finance
Human Resources Management
General Administration
Annual General Meeting
Supporting 3rd party events
Developing a new multi-year proposal to be submitted to the Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA).

In 2009 the staff compliment consisted of 1 full time employee (Executive Director) and 1 temporary
administrative assistant (June - September). My workload increased substantially as a result of:
Extensive overhaul of the CAP AIDS website
Development of new social media/communications tools
New scale-up approach to CAP AIDS and 3rd party events
New CIDA project, approved in October 2009.

From January to July 2010 the staff compliment was 1 full-time employee (Executive Director) and 1
summer student (7 weeks). The organization hired a paid coordinator for the Vancouver bike-a-thon
event in May/June. My responsibilities increased even further with the new CIDA project. CIDA
approved funding for the following 3 employees to work on the project: Executive Director (1 day per
week); Project Officer (2 days per week); and Public Engagement Coordinator (1 day per week). But CAP
AIDS did not hire these required resources. So, in addition to the regular event/fundraising and
administration responsibilities listed above, I also performed the duties of 3 employees dedicated to the
CIDA VSF Project S-064673 project.

Through my updates to the Board, and regular conversations with the President, I have repeatedly
articulated the fact that the workload was increasingly becoming unmanageable. Although the Executive
Director’s Job Description guarantees paid administrative assistance, no such assistance was provided
between May 2008 and July 2010. Also, the Executive Director’s Job Description stipulates that I work
only 35 hours per week. But the precarious resource base and staffing crisis dictated that I make
unprecedented personal sacrifices to my health and social life. From May 2008 to July 2010, I have
worked as follows:
Average 60 – 80 hours per week
At least 50 weekends
At least 60 times overnight or into the early hours of the next day
More than 200 evenings
Made more than 50 trips to the bank
Commuted at least 30 times to CAP AIDS Signatories offices to get checks and wire transfers signed
Coordinated 9 fundraising events
Conducted more than 19 public engagement events
Worked a minimum of 6 000 unpaid hours (Minimum 1900 in 2008; minimum 3000 in 2009 and
minimum 1 700 in 2010)
Created or responded more than 6 000 e-mails
Worked most Canadian statutory holidays
Took no vacation
Created more than 160 original documents/reports for CAP AIDS
Revised/Updated more than 100 CAP AIDS reports/documents
At the beginning of 2009, I quit my studies at the University of Toronto to give CAP AIDS the extra time
required to keep the organization afloat
On numerous occasions, I went without a salary because CAP AIDS bank balances were too low
From May 2008 to December 2009, I performed the duties of at least 4 regular, paid, employees.
Between January 2010 and July 2010, I performed the duties of at least 4 regular, paid employees PLUS
3 additional regular, paid, employees dedicated to the CIDA project
Between May 2008 and December 2009, I sacrificed my private home to accommodate the CAP AIDS
furniture and other property, which could not be accommodated at the temporary office we occupied
from June 2008 to December 2009

Between May 2008 and July 2010, the work environment at CAP AIDS was highly stressful, highly
exploitative, and characterized by: overwhelming workload; sky-rocketing and highly disproportionate
organizational expectations; a precarious resource base; acute staff shortage; emotional isolation;
micro-managing by the Board; blurred lines of accountability; and board interference in management
processes and decisions.

The work environment stripped me of the ability to create a reasonable work-life balance. I was forced,
directly and indirectly, to overwork to exhaustion. It’s possible that, due to my commitment to CAP
AIDS, and to the fight against the global HIV+AIDS pandemic, I would not have complained. But recent
developments have made it imperative that I break the silence. These include:
The CAP AIDS Board is currently treating me worse than used toilet paper!
The recent Executive Director performance review, which was deeply flawed. The reviewers gave an
incomplete representation of the Executive Director’s work, severely understated my strengths and
achievements, and downplayed the CAP AIDS workload.
I have endured sustained harassment by CAP AIDS Directors in the last nine months. I believe that the
harassment was part of a sustained effort to disempower me and diminish my prospects of becoming
the CAP AIDS next Executive Director
The tension-laden communication of June 29, 2010 left me intimidated, humiliated, disempowered,
abused, harassed, isolated
Implicit and explicit off-the-cuff judgements of the Executive Director’s performance have escalated in
the last couple of months
The prevailing environment is characterised by emotional isolation, exclusion and discrimination

I was especially shocked to learn that it was “unprofessional” to remind CAP AIDS Directors of the
increasing workload and persistent exploitative environment. During the feedback to the review of my
performance, one Director said: “While Obert works hard, we all do in our professional lives; his
constant reference to being overworked (and most recently “exploited”) is unprofessional.”

Does this Director imply that CAP AIDS employees have no right to speak out against a highly stressful,
unsupportive and exploitative work environment? Is this the CAP AIDS Board’s collective position?

As a new immigrant to Canada, I could have easily yielded to the violence, threats, intimidation,
harassment, emotional isolation, exclusion and discrimination - by taking off! I could have chosen to
protect my personal relationships that are intimately connected with CAP AIDS. But I choose to do the
right thing for CAP AIDS, and for the partnership of the people of Canada and Africa in the struggle
against AIDS. I therefore sincerely ask the CAP AIDS Board to urgently address the following issues:
CAP AIDS’ ENTRENCHED CULTURE OF EMPLOYEE EXPLOITATION
DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY FORCED TO OVERWORK
BOARD’S NEGLECT OF, AND CONTRIBUTION TO, HIGHLY STRESSFUL, UNSUPPORTIVE & EXPLOITATIVE
WORK ENVIRONMENT
HIGHLY DECEPTIVE AND EXPLOITATIVE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S JOB DESCRIPTION
MYTHS & MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT VOLUNTEERS' ROLE AND CAP AIDS ABILITY TO ENGAGE
VOLUNTEERS
CAP AIDS DIRECTORS AS VOLUNTEERS
WRONG ASSUMPTION THAT RESPONSIBILITY FOR REPORTING FOR CIDA PROJECT CAN BE OUTSOURCED
TO VOLUNTEERS
EXECESSIVE BOARD INVOLVEMNT AND INTERFERENCE IN MANAGEMENT DECISIONS AND PROCESSES /
UNDERMINING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S POSITION AND AUTHORITY
VIOLATION OF CAP AIDS DIRECTORS CODE OF CONDUCT AND OTHER POLICIES
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PERFORMANCE REVIEW: FLAWED, BIASED AND MANIPULATED
THE BLAME GAME
HARASSMENT BY MANZUR MALIK BETWEEN NOVEMBER 2009 AND JUNE 2010
CONFUSING AND HURTFUL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
JANUARY 2010 AND JUNE 2010
MANIPULATED, MISINTERPRETED AND VIOLENCE-LADDEN COMMUNICATION OF TUESDAY, JUNE 29,
2010
HARASSMENT BY SARAH PUGH
TENDENCY TOWARDS A CRIPPLING ENVIRONMENT OF ALLIANCE AND LOBBYING
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HIRING PROCESS: A VEILED TERMINATION PROCESS?
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR FUNDS TRANSFERED TO UGANDA IN JULY 2009
UNFULFILLED OBLIGATIONS UNDER CIDA PROJECT

1) CAP AIDS’ ENTRENCHED CULTURE OF EMPLOYEE EXPLOITATION
As stated earlier, CAP AIDS effectively ceased to be an organization that can be realistically run by one
employee in 2006. In the summer of 2007, the organization almost fulfilled its staff requirements - with
4 part-time employees (Executive Director, Program Coordinator, and 2 Summer Student interns).
Additionally, the organization contracted two event coordinators - 1 national Bike 2 CAP AIDS
coordinator and 1 Vancouver bike-a-thon coordinator.

The 2 Summer Student interns were dedicated to the Bike to CAP AIDS Campaign, Shut Up and Do
Something Campaign and Administration. The 2 subcontractors were engaged solely for Bike to CAP
AIDS 2007. The main responsibilities of the 2 employees were:
a) Fundraising
b) Volunteer Development and Coordination
c) Public Engagement
d) Governance/Board Support
e) Development & Management of Organizational Structure
f) Communications and Public Relations
g) Programs
h) Finance
i) Human Resources Management
j) General Administration
k) Annual General Meetings
l) Support of 3rd party events

In 2008 the staff compliment sharply declined to 1 full-time employee (Executive Director) and 1, 7-
week Summer Student. The organization hired 3 contracted Bike-a-thon coordinators for about 8 weeks.
The 2 Summer Student intern was dedicated to Bike to CAP AIDS 2008, Shut Up and Do Something
Campaign and Administration. The 2 subcontractors were engaged for Bike to CAP AIDS 209. As
Executive Director and sole CAP AIDS employee, I was responsible for, and performed, the following:
a) Fundraising: Events
i) Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2008 National: Co-planned and coordinated campaign; updated campaign
documents; engaged, trained and supported regional volunteers; created and managed Artez Event
Page; created or updated Artez user messages; created campaign page on website; send invitations and
reminders; updated social media tools; etc.
ii) Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2008 Toronto: co-planned and coordinated event; updated event documents;
identified, engaged, trained and supported volunteers; updated location page on Artez Event Page; send
invitations and reminders; updated social media tools; etc.
iii) SUADS 2008 Campaign: Coordinated campaign
iv) World AIDS Day 2008: Supported volunteer team; addressed event
v) STWM Charity Challenge 2008: Planned campaign; created CAP AIDS profile call to action for
campaign host’s website; prepared and submitted CAP AIDS materials for Artez fundraising page; etc.
vi) General: performed data entry; and issued tax receipt and thank you letters
b) Fundraising: Grant Proposals
i) Developed proposal submitted to Kenoli Foundation
ii) Developed proposal submitted to Lundin for Africa
iii) Developed proposal submitted to HIV+AIDS Global Engagement Grants Programme (2008-2009)
c) Volunteer Development and Coordination
i) Recruited, trained, supervised and supported at least 6 active volunteers
d) Public Engagement
i) Prepared presentations; traveled; and delivered presentations
ii) Conducted general public engagement activities
e) Governance/Board Support
i) Attended Board Meetings
ii) Prepared and presented Executive Director’s Reports to the Board
iii) Prepared miscellaneous Board support documentation
f) Development & Management of Organizational Structure
i) Hired, trained, supervised, supported and evaluated 2008 Summer Student intern
g) Communications and Public Relations
i) Newsletters: Created newsletter editorial team; gathered content; coordinated newsletter
production; created /updated mailing lists; mailed newsletter
ii) Website: Conducted research dedicated to planned website overhaul
h) Programs:
i) Compiled and submitted End-of-Project Report for Safe Livelihoods project
ii) Compiled and submitted End-of-Project Project for Youth United to CAP AIDS project
iii) Created new major project proposal (CIDA VSF)
iv) Managed International Youth Internship Program (IYIP)
i) Finance
i) Banking
ii) Budget formulation
iii) Wire Transfers
iv) Periodic financial reports
v) Financial audit
vi) Financial records and documentation
vii) bill payment
viii) creation of reports for bookkeeper
j) Human Resources Management
i) Created job descriptions
ii) Hired, trained and supervised summer student intern, B2CA2008 National Coordinator and
volunteers
k) General Administration
i) Maintained office
ii) Maintained filing system; and organized and filed documents;
iii) Procured and stored supplies
iv) Maintained office equipment - computers, copier, etc.
v) Reception: answered phone, responded to voice mail, responded to email, opened and responded
to mail; send info packages to those that request them, etc.
vi) Finance: received bills/invoices; prepared cheques, arranged for cheque-signing, mailed payments,
provided source documents and bank statements to accountant; arranged for electronic funds- transfers
to Africa, etc.
vii) Deposits: processed donations in data-base; filled deposit book, made deposits
viii) Tax receipts: produced list of those needing receipts; printed tax receipts and thank you letters
ix) Monitored on-line donations and send thank you letters to donors
x) Correspondence

l) Annual General Meeting
i) Venue booking; invitations; Annual Report; Materials

m) Support of 3rd party events

From May 2008 to December 2008, the working environment at CAP AIDS was highly exploitative, highly
stressful and characterized by:
Overwhelming workload
High and disproportionate expectations
Precarious resource base
Acute staff shortage
Emotional isolation

In 2009 the staff compliment consisted of 1 full time employee (Executive Director) and 1 temporary
Resource Development Assistant (June - September). The Resource Development Assistant was engaged
to help with: Bike to CAP AIDS 2009; development of a new proposal to the CIDA International Youth
Internship Program (IYIP); and Administration.

As Executive Director and sole CAP AIDS employee, I was responsible for, and performed, the following:
i) Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2009 National: Planned and coordinated campaign; updated campaign documents;
identified, engaged, trained and supported regional volunteers; created and managed Artez Event Page;
created or updated Artez use messages; created campaign page website; send invitations and
ii) Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2009 Toronto: planned and coordinated event; updated event documents;
iii) SUADS Campaign: planned campaign; created website/blog; engaged schools; etc.
iv) World AIDS Day 2009: co-planned and coordinated campaign; fundraised; sold tickets; acquired
silent auction items and sponsorship; addressed event, etc.
v) STWM Charity Challenge 2009: conducted preliminary planning; created CAP AIDS profile and call to
action for campaign host’s website; created CAP AIDS materials for Artez fundraising page; etc.
i) General: performed data entry; and issued tax receipt and thank you letters; etc.

i) Co-created proposal submitted to to ICAD-CIDA International Youth Internship Program (IYIP)
ii) Co-developed proposal submitted to Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Social Justice Fund

c) Fundraising: Direct Mail Campaigns
(1) May 2009 Direct Mail
(a) Designed DM letter; created direct mail lists; executed campaign; performed data entry; issued tax
receipt and thank you letters.
(2) December 2009 Direct Mail
(a) Created direct mail lists; performed data entry; issued tax receipt and thank you letters

d) Fundraising: Tools Developed/adopted
i) Eventbrite: Design & Campaigns

e) Volunteer Development and Coordination
i) Recruited, trained, supervised, supported at least 13 active volunteers

f) Public Engagement
i) Presentation preparation, travel and presentation delivery
ii) General public engagement activities

g) Governance/Board Support
i) Prepared for and attended Board Meetings
ii) Executive Director’s Reports to the Board
iii) Miscellaneous Board support documentation

h) Development & Management of Organizational Structure
i) Hired, trained, supervised and supported Program Development Assistant
ii) Sourced funding, created volunteer jobs

i) Communications and Public Relations:
i) May 2009 Newsletter:
(1) Assembled editorial team, gathered source material; edited articles; coordinated mailing, etc.
ii) Website:
(1) Finalised new design; conducted extensive overhaul – created new pages/sub-pages; edited existing
content; added new tools/links, etc.
Additionally, the Executive Director developed or introduced the following new communications tools:
iii) Facebook Page:
(1) Page creation, update, follower cultivation
iv) Twitter Account:
(1) Account design, updates
v) MailChimp E-mail marketing tool:
(1) Design, template creation, etc.
vi) SUADS 09 Blog
(1) Blog design, content, etc.

j) Programs:
i) Managed Quarter 1 of new CIDA VSF project

k) Finance
i) Banking
iii) Wire Transfers
v) Financial audit
vii) Bill payment
viii) Created reports for bookkeeper

l) Human Resources Management
i) Program Development Assistant:
(1) Hired, trained, supervised and supported Program Development Assistant
ii) Bookkeeper:
(1) Re-hired bookkeeper under new terms, duties and responsibilities

m) Volunteers
i) General: Created job descriptions; advertised jobs; hired, B2CA2010 Coordinate and volunteers

n) Annual Audit
i) Communicated with auditor; prepared audit materials; facilitated confirmation of wire-transfer send
to Africa; submitted audit package to auditor

o) General Administration
to Africa, etc.
x) Correspondence

p) Annual General Meeting:
i) Booked venue; send out invitations; prepared Annual Report; prepared AGM materials

q) Support of 3rd party events

From January 2009 to December 2009, the work environment at CAP AIDS was highly exploitative, highly
Emotional isolation
Towards the end of the year, work environment degenerated as a result of:
Increasing micro-managing tendencies that further raised increased pressure on the Executive Director
Blurred line of accountability
Increased Board interference in management processes and decisions

In 2010 the staff compliment was 1 full-time employee (Executive Director) and 1 Summer Student
intern (7 weeks). The organization engaged a paid coordinator for the Vancouver bike-a-thon.

As Executive Director and sole CAP AIDS employee, I was responsible for, and performed, the following:
i) Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2010 National: Planned and coordinated campaign; updated campaign documents;
identified, engaged, trained and supported regional volunteers; created and managed Artez Event Page;
created or updated Artez use messages; created campaign page website; send invitations and
ii) Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2010 Toronto: planned and coordinated event; updated event documents;
iii) SUADS 2010: conducted preliminary planning; updated website with campaign information; updated
campaign documents/tools; etc.
iv) World AIDS Day 2010: conducted preliminary planning; updated website with campaign information;
updated campaign documents/tools; etc.
v) Golf to CAP AIDS 2010: conducted preliminary planning; updated website with campaign
information; updated campaign documents/tools; etc.
vi) STWM Charity Challenge 2010: conducted preliminary planning; created and submitted CAP AIDS
profile and call to action to organizers; updated website with campaign information; updated campaign
documents/tools; etc.
vii) General: performed data entry; and issued tax receipt and thank you letters; etc.

i) Developed successful proposal submitted to Service Canada for 2010 Summer Student internship

c) Fundraising: Direct Mail (DM) Campaigns
i) May 2010 Direct Mail:
(1)Designed DM letter; created direct mail lists; executed campaign

d) Volunteer Development and Coordination
i) Recruited, trained, supervised and supported at least 10 active volunteers

e) Public Engagement
i) Addressed Community Bicycle Network (CBN)’s April Board meeting; pitched Toronto B2CA2010
event
ii) Met with Athletes for Africa officials; pitched proposed Uganda youth training centre

f) Governance/Board Support
i) Prepared for and attending Board Meetings
ii) Prepared and presented Executive Director’s Reports to the Board
iii) Prepared miscellaneous Board support documentation
iv) Supported Communications Committee –

g) Development & Management of Organizational Structure
i) Developed successful proposal for 2010 Summer Student Internship
ii) Hired, trained, supervised and evaluated Summer Student intern

h) Communications and Public Relations:
i) May 2010 Newsletter:
(1)Assembled Editorial Team Gathered material. – articles- editing, designed-, mailing lists- mailed
newsletter
(2)Creating newsletter editorial team; content-; creating/updating mailing lists; mailing; e-newsletter
design
ii) Website:
(1)General maintenance
(2)Updates: B2CA2010; Upcoming Events; Our People; News
iii) Facebook Page:
(1)General Maintenance
(2)Updates
iv) Twitter Account:
(1)General Maintenance
(2)Updates
v) MailChimp E-mail marketing tool:
(1)Created templates
(2)Developed B2CA2010 campaign message; executed campaign

i) Programs:
i) CIDA VSF Project:
(1)Managed 1st three quarters of project:
(2)Compiled and submitted to CIDA Quarter 1 Narrative Report
(3)Compiled and submitted to CIDA Quarter 2 Narrative Report
(4)Compiled and submitted to CIDA Bi-annual Progress Report

j) Finance
i) Banking
iii) Wire Transfers
v) Financial audit
vii) bill payment
viii) creation of reports for bookkeeper

k) Human Resources Management
i) 2010 Summer Student Intern:
(1)Hired; trained; supervised and evaluated intern
ii) Volunteers:
(1) Hired, trained and supervised volunteers
iii) General:
(1)Created job descriptions; advertised jobs; hired, trained and B2CA2010 Vancouver Coordinator

l) Strategic Planning
i) Developed Draft 3-year Strategy for CAP AIDS
ii) Developed 6-month –

m) General Administration
to Africa, etc.
x) Correspondence

n) Annual General Meeting – preliminary planning (activities)
i) Date and venue set
ii) Annual Audit: Arranged meeting with auditor; gathered audit documents; requested confirmation of
wire-transfers send to Africa, etc.

In addition to the regular event/fundraising and administration responsibilities listed above, I have also
performed the duties of the Executive Director (1 day a week), Project Officer (2 days a week) and Public
Engagement Coordinator (1 day a week) for the CIDA project during the last nine months.

From January 2010 to July 2010, the work environment at CAP AIDS was highly exploitative, highly
Emotional isolation
Micro-managing tendencies
Blurred line of accountability
Increased Board interference in management processes and decisions
The situation degenerated as a result of:
Harassment
Violence
Intimidation
Victimization
Emotional isolation
Discrimination

2) DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY FORCED TO OVERWORK
From May 2008, to July 2010, I was directly & indirectly forced to overwork as a result of:
a) The overwhelming CAP AIDS workload and staffing crisis as outlined above
b) Sky-rocketing and disproportionate organizational expectations against scarce resource
c) Sustained mental and physical pressure resulting from:
i) Blame-laden interpretation of CAP AIDS’ fundraising performance in the last two years
ii) CAP AIDS Directors’ directives and requests, which often disregarded the workload, staffing crisis
and Executive Director’s schedules. For example, Kevin’s President’s Letter from Africa, unplanned, came
in the middle planning for WAD 2009. It had an escapable sense of urgency. I was forced to work
overnight on Thursday, October 29, 2009, performing the following tasks: creating mailing lists,
designing campaign on MailChimp and executing campaign

iii) Directors failing to discharge their responsibilities. For examples, the Communications Committee
had committed to creating the May 2010 newsletter but failed to discharge their responsibilities in a
timely fashion, forcing the Executive Director to fill in their shoes and, consequently, overwork. I had to
step in and assume most of the responsibilities. As a result, I worked throughout the weekend Friday,
May 7 to Sunday, May 9, including evenings, creating outstanding articles, writing 6 articles, co-writing 2
articles, editing all articles and designing the newsletter. I worked overnight on Sunday, May 9 to
Monday, May 10, creating the I draft May 2010 newsletter in PDF and Microsoft Publisher formats.

iv) Regular communication between the Board Members and Executive Director/Office, which often
results in additional work for the Executive Director

3) BOARD’S NEGLECT OF, AND CONTRIBUTION TO, HIGHLY STRESSFUL, UNSUPPORTIVE &
EXPLOITATIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT
I strongly believe that the CAP AIDS Board directly contributed to the prevailing undesirable working
environment. Through the Executive Director’s activity reports and regular communication with the
President, the Board was kept informed of the increasing workload and diminishing human resource
base. And yet, the Board presided over this environment for more than 2 years without making concrete
steps to correct it.
a) The Board failed to design an Executive Director’s job description that accurately reflected the
workload
b) CAP AIDS failed to assess the workplace for the risk of stress, and ignored signs that the Executive
Director was under pressure or feeling stressed. (As noted earlier, one Director made an insensitive
suggestion that it is “unprofessional” for the Executive Director to inform the Board that he is being
“overworked” and “exploited”.)
c) CAP AIDS failed to create conditions that would allow the Executive Director to have control over the
tasks he did as much as possible or allow a healthy work-life balance
d) The CAP AIDS Board continually pressured the Executive Director with sky-rocketing and
disproportionate expectations, and directives that disregarded the workload and his priorities and
schedules
e) The CAP AIDS Board failed to keep job demands reasonable by providing manageable deadlines,
hours of work, and clear duties
f) CAP AIDS failed to provide “Paid Resources for Achieving Objectives” as per the commitment in the
Executive Director’s job description.
g) CAP AIDS Directors could have done more to support the growth, development and sustainability of
the organization. The Board Director’s Job Description clearly states that all Directors of the Board shall
“corporately participate in securing adequate funding for CAP AIDS” and “contribute financially to CAP
AIDS on an annual giving basis”. CAP AIDS Director’s Code of Conduct clearly stipulates that “Board
Directors will contribute to CAP AIDS’ fund raising efforts”. On several occasions, CAP AIDS Directors
volunteering for events failed to discharge their responsibilities, forcing the Executive Director to fill in
their shoes and, consequently, overwork. The Board seems to have neglected its responsibility to seek
the resources required to adequately staff the organization. CAP AIDS by-laws empower and mandate
Directors to act to ensure the sustainability of the organization.

4) HIGHLY DECEPTIVE AND EXPLOITATIVE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S JOB DESCRIPTION
The CAP AIDS’ Executive Director’s job description is unrealistic, ambiguous and misleading. It played a
significant role in the exploitation described above. The job description encompasses: Volunteer
Development and Coordination; Development & Management of Organizational Structure; Fundraising;
Communications; Public Engagement; Public Relations; Programs; Governance; Finance; Human
Resources Management and Administration.

I was utterly shocked to learn that some CAP AIDS Directors think the organization’s staffing crisis can be
solved by employing a “dedicated half time (or greater) office/admin/fundraising assistant if the overall
workload of the organization is to become manageable for him (Executive Director).”

As stated earlier on, CAP AIDS came close to fulfilling its staff requirements in 2007 with 4 part time
employees (ED, Program Coordinator, and 2 Summer Students) and 2 contracted event coordinators for
the Bike 2 CAP AIDS campaign. Since 2007, the workload has almost doubled with new website, new
social media/communications tools, new approach to 3 rd party events (WAD & Golf to CAP AIDS) and
new CIDA project.

I believe that we owe it to the CAP AIDS membership, donors, partners, volunteers and other interested
parties to be honest and truthful about the organization’s workload. This is especially important as we
move to hire a new permanent Executive Director.

The current CAP AIDS workload comprises the following distinct positions:
Executive Director
CIDA VSF Project Coordination
Fundraising & Events Coordination (B2CA, STWM Charity Challenge, SUADS, WAD, Direct Mail, etc.)
Communications, PR, Marketing and Public Engagement Coordination
Volunteer Coordination
Financial Management
Administration

At the very least, the current CAP AIDS workload requires 4 paid, regular employees. Anything less
would perpetuate the current exploitative environment and stifle CAP AIDS’ growth. A strategy is
required NOW. That strategy starts with an honest and independent evaluation of the CAP AIDS
workload.

5) MYTHS & MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT VOLUNTEERS' ROLE AND CAP AIDS ABILITY TO ENGAGE
VOLUNTEERS
The Executive Director is often criticised for not doing enough to engage volunteers. An honest and
realistic discussion is urgently required to determine CAP AIDS’ ability to effectively engage volunteers.
Drawing from my experience in the last couple of years:
a) CAP AIDS lacks the capacity to effectively engage volunteers. The Executive Director’s current
workload significantly diminishes CAP AIDS’ capacity to effectively recruit, train, supervise and evaluate
volunteers.

b) An overwhelming percentage of the Executive Director’s regular responsibilities in 2008, 2009 and
2010 cannot realistically be accomplished through volunteer energy. They need paid staff.

c) An overwhelming percentage of Administration duties articulated above require regular, consistent
possible only through paid resources

d) CAP AIDS events are elaborate and time-consuming: Volunteers still need considerable support
from the office. The WAD 2009 campaign is a good example: The campaign had a highly-motivated,
competent volunteer coordinator, Aarti Kumaria. But the Executive Director still played an exhausting
role in the coordination of the event and: created concept paper for event; facilitated initial planning
meeting in July 2009; participated in regular planning meetings; assisted in securing event venue;
fundraised extensively (Secured $600 in sponsorship, sold tickets worth $294 and secured $900
Zimbabwe stone sculpture for auction); secured considerable number of silent auction items;
successfully invited Guest Speaker, Adam Giambrone; created WAD 09 on Event on Eventbrite; designed
& processed 200 tickets; designed Volunteer of the Year award; secured main performer, Tokyo Giants
band; created initial event poster; created WAD 09 Cause on Facebook; and prepared and delivered
presentation; etc.

e) Even dedicated volunteers require constant or additional support: Before launching B2CA2010, the
Executive Director set up the President and other volunteers as Administrators of the Artez Online Event
Page. I provided step-by-step instructions on how to: update pages or sections of site; generate reports;
assist registrants and fundraisers, etc. And yet I often received requests to update the Artez user
information, create reports, help with registration and technical issues, etc.

f) The workload Increases when key and committed volunteers suddenly become unavailable: For
example, in the past, Vancouver-based CAP AIDS volunteers have helped to recruit, train and support
the Vancouver Bike-a-thon Coordinator. This year, the volunteers were unavailable to help with the
recruitment of the 2010 Vancouver Bike-a-thon Coordinator. As a result, I was forced to undertake the
entire recruitment process – drafting job description, posting job on Charity Village, reviewing 15-plus
applications, shortlisting candidates, interviewing candidates over the phone, and hiring. I hired, trained,
supervised, guided, advised and supported the coordinator.

I strongly believe that the level of volunteer engagement CAP AIDS Directors expect cannot be achieved
without satisfying CAP AIDS’ minimum staffing requirements. Another solution is to hired part-time and
paid volunteer coordinator.

6) CAP AIDS DIRECTORS AS VOLUNTEERS:

The CAP AIDS’ Code of Conduct, Director Position Description and Director Duties and Responsibilities
require CAP AIDS Directors to help with CAP AIDS fundraising efforts:
CAP AIDS Director’s Code of Conduct 2.11 clearly stipulates that “Board Directors will contribute to CAP
AIDS’ fund raising efforts”.
The CAP AIDS Director Position Description requires Directors “…to advance the mission of CAP AIDS by
developing policies, establishing priorities, and supporting the growth, development, and sustainability
of the organization” and “…assist the President and Executive Director with the resources to meet the
needs of those assisted by CAP AIDS.”
Duties and Responsibilities required CAP AIDS Directors to “corporately participate in securing adequate
funding for CAP AIDS” and “contribute financially to CAP AIDS on an annual giving basis.”

And yet, CAP AIDS Directors are often found wanting, especially when it comes fundraising efforts. Here
are a few examples from 2010 alone:
a) Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2010: Only 4 of the 7 Toronto-based Directors fundraised. The Executive Director
officially launched the campaign on February 26, 2010, and asked Directors to register and fundraise.
Numerous e-mail appeals followed. Two of the 4 Directors – Manzur and Sarah – signed up and
fundraised only after Kevin’s desperate/passionate e-mail appeal on June 5.

b) Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2010: On May 6, Kevin appealed to Elyse, Rainos, Manzur, Aarti to help the
Executive Director to call past Bike 2 CAP AIDS participants and encourage them to support the 2010.
Only Aarti and Elyse responded. When I outlined the minimum help required, it was suggested that
asking too much scares the volunteers away.

c) May 2010 Newsletter: The Communications Committee and the Executive Director started planning
the newsletter in Mid-March. But by mid-April, we had hardly progressed. The Executive Director had no
choice but to expedite the process - by foregoing meetings, gathering material and assigning writing
assignments. Even after receiving all half-ready materials, some volunteers, Board members included,
struggled to fulfill their assignments. Consequently, the Executive Director was forced to write most of
the articles. (See May 2010 newsletter!) I had no choice but to work the weekend of May 7-9, and spend
the night at the office on Sunday, May 10, writing 6 articles, co-writing 2 articles, editing all articles and
designing the newsletter. By the early hours of Monday, I had created the draft May 2010 newsletter in
PDF and Microsoft Publisher formats. I was exhausted. I needed help with the final edit. I asked
members of the Communications Committee for help. Only Kevin responded.

d) Emily had agreed to help coordinate the SUADS 2010 campaign, SUADS blog and CAP AIDS Public
Engagement Strategy. In May, she informed me and Kevin that she was restricted with her time and so,
SUADS 2010 is back on my desk!

Throughout the last 2 years, the President and I have agonized over under-performing and non-
performing Directors. And yet no concrete steps have been taken at the Board level to make things
right. Instead, the Board has piled pressure on the Executive Director to meet fundraising results with
minimal help and resources. The Executive Director has spent a considerable amount of time BEGGING
Directors to fulfill their obligations.

It is grossly unfair that 100% fundraising results are expected from the Executive Director, especially
when Board of Directors are not fulfilling their obligations to “contribute to CAP AIDS’ fund raising
efforts”, “…to advance the mission of CAP AIDS by developing policies, establishing priorities, and
supporting the growth, development, and sustainability of the organization”, “…assist the President and
Executive Director with the resources to meet the needs of those assisted by CAP AIDS”, “corporately
participate in securing adequate funding for CAP AIDS” and “contribute financially to CAP AIDS on an
annual giving basis.”
Under-performing and non-performing Directors increase the office’s workload and stifle CAP AIDS’
growth. Directors who have served and wish to move on should be celebrated. CAP AIDS should boldly
move on and create space for new energy.

7) WRONG ASSUMPTION THAT RESPONSIBILITY FOR REPORTING FOR CIDA PROJECT CAN BE
OUTSOURCED TO VOLUNTEERS
During a recent telephone conversation the President seemed to blame me for overworking, and
suggested that I should have assigned Kate the responsibility of compiling the Quarter 2 reports for the
CIDA Project. I personally admire Kate dedication and exquisite skills, but I strongly believe that report
writing for the Project can not be outsourced to volunteers. Here are some reasons:
a) The reporting process for the Project is heavy. Progress Reports (narrative and financial) are due
every 3 months. The Project Performance Report is due every 6 months. CIDA may request Special
Reports any time. Each report is often a product of: elaborate original reports from Africa; further
consultation with CAP AIDS Uganda; analyses of surveys; reference to project workplans, previous
progress reports and related activities in Canada; etc. A simply question from CIDA may require
elaborate communication involving the CAP AIDS office, CAP AIDS Uganda and partners on the ground.

b) CIDA approved funding for 3 paid employees - Executive Director, Project Office and Public
Engagement Coordinator - and 4 paid days a week to be devoted to the Project. I believe this is CIDA’s
confirmation that the management and reporting of the Project requires salaried personnel. I don’t
think CIDA would have approved the Project if we had indicated that we would outsource important
aspects of the project to unsalaried volunteers.

c) I quite strongly believe that we can’t separate the management of the Project from the report-
writing function. CAP AIDS has an obligation to provide consistent, quality and timely reports to CIDA. I
am especially concerned that, with the example of the May 2010 newsletter above, volunteers are not
always there when needed.

8) EXECESSIVE BOARD INVOLVEMNT AND INTERFERENCE IN MANAGEMENT DECISIONS AND
PROCESSES / UNDERMINING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S POSITION AND AUTHORITY
Recently, distinctions between the CAP AIDS Board and Management have become increasingly
distorted. Individual Directors routinely act as a top layer of management – steering the ship rather than
agreeing the charted course and keeping a light hand on the rudder. Some Board members seem to act
as if their role or special area of expertise gives them a right to regularly tell the Executive Director what
to do and when to do it. As a result:
a) A crippling culture of micro-management is evolving. Very few major Management decision are
made without the input of certain Directors

b) The current Executive Director’s position is significantly disempowered. And yet, when it comes to
the organization’s shortcomings, the Executive Director’s position is expected to assume 100% of the
responsibility

c) Directors routinely exercise individual authority over the Executive Director

d) Directors routinely criticise or express individual, off-the-cuff judgments of the Executive Director’s
performance

e) Individual Directors often issue directives

f) Directors often override the Executive Director’s decisions: Through the 2010-11 Budget, the CAP
AIDS Board mandated the Executive Director to spend $4 300 on Bike 2 CAIDS. CAP AIDS ended up
spending $5 044 after a decision was made to do posters and spoke cards at a cost of over $1 200

g) The Executive Director’s decisions are routinely ignored. The poster I designed for B2CA2010, which
was cheap and more accurately represented the impact of CAP AIDS’ bike distribution strategy in Africa,
was given negligible consideration and substituted with the poster and spoke card mentioned above

h) Individual Directors routinely speak for the Board

i) Board-Management relations are currently severely strained

j) Directors often communicate directly with Summer Students or volunteers. They often issue
instructions or directives that should be issued by the Executive Director

k) Recently, the Treasurer by-passed the Executive Director and requested for financial reports directly
from the bookkeeper.

In the Executive Director’s report to the January 27 Board Meeting, I made 2 important requests relating
to Board-Management relations. I specifically requested the Board to:
Revisit the roles and responsibilities of the CAP AIDS Board and CAP AIDS Executive.
Define its “Board Engagement” expectations (See Manzur’s e-mail, dated November, 2009.)

This important request, which has a direct bearing on the current Board-Management tensions,
harassment the Executive Director in the last couple of months and the prevailing undesirable
environment, received no response from the CAP AIDS Board.

9) VIOLATION OF CAP AIDS DIRECTORS CODE OF CONDUCT AND OTHER POLICIES
The lack of clear distinction between Board and Management has resulted in numerous violations of the
CAP AIDS Directors Code of Conduct.
CAP AIDS’ Code of Conduct articles 2.3 states that: “Board Directors’ interaction with the Executive
Director, staff, or volunteers must recognize the lack of authority vested in individuals except when
explicitly Board authorized.”
The CAP AIDS Board of Directors Code of Conduct 2.5 clearly states that: “Board Directors’ interaction
with the Executive Director, staff, or volunteers must recognize the lack of authority vested in individuals
except when explicitly Board authorized.”
The CAP AIDS Board of Directors Code of Conduct 2.7 states that: “Except for participation in Board
deliberation about whether reasonable interpretation of Board policy has been achieved by the Executive
Director, Board Directors will not express individual judgments of performance of the Executive Director,
staff, or volunteers of CAP AIDS.”

On several occasions CAP AIDS Directors have:
Judged, criticised and expressed individual judgments of performance of the Executive Director and
Judged, criticised and expressed judgments of the performance of CAP AIDS volunteers under the direct
supervision of the Executive Director

10) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PERFORMANCE REVIEW: FLAWED, BIASED AND MANIPULATED
In my e-mail dated Friday, August 13, 2010, I rejected the results of the recent performance review of
the Executive Director. I believe that a performance review process should seek to accomplish both
personal development for the employee and organizational goals for the organization. For the following
reasons, I feel that the process was not a developmental experience for both the Executive Director and
CAP AIDS:
· Reviewers violated spirit of process by extending review period into 2010 without informing
Executive Director
· A veil of secrecy and an “ambush”
· Reviewers were unduly rushed
· Timing was bad for both CAP AIDS and the Executive Director
· Evaluation goals were not explained in advance
· No evaluation was done 2008 (and the 2009 evaluation was only conducted after I requested it.)
· Original CAP AIDS evaluation tool was substituted without explanation
· Incomplete representation of Executive Director’s work
· Executive Director’s skills, strengths and achievements were severely understated
· Process understated depth and breadth of CAP AIDS’ workload
· Deliberate “Silence” on the personal sacrifices made by the Executive Director
· Insulting comments by reviewers

a) Reviewers violated the spirit of process by extending review period into 2010 without informing
Executive Director:
The review period is clearly listed as January 2008 to December 2009. But the reviewers seem to also
have been partly influenced by developments beyond December 2009. Below are some glaring
examples:
i) One reviewer states that “Earlier this year he was introduced to and trained in developing a 12
month process schedule / planning calendar tool for the 2010/11 CAP-AIDs fiscal year.” Further, the
reviewer says, “As mentioned above Obert has been oriented into a “process schedule” tool that will
facilitate the mapping out of the year’s activities and timelines.”

The two quotes clearly refer to the tool the Treasurer introduced to the Executive Director on March 5,
2010.

ii) On Outcomes under Fundraising, Communications and PR, the reviewers suggest that “Outcomes:
B2CA 2009 exceeded target but 2010 will be short of target…”

I believe this opinion was reached at in 2010, after it became clear that the B2CA2010 fundraising goal
of $50 000 was unreachable.

iii) On Activities & Outcomes under Finance, Human Resources and Administration, the reviewers
noted about the Executive Director: “…together they worked closely with the Treasurer in developing the
2010/11 budget.” The reviewers further state that “While Obert is gradually becoming more versed in
financial planning and management and his reporting efforts have been substantial, their quality
bespeaks continuing room for improvement. Recent examples include the failure to ensure that the
accountant had provided a 2009/10 Quarter 4 report before going oversees for an extended period
which meant that the Board was not in the position to be clear about our financial situation and to make
appropriate decisions based on updated information. Another indicator of concern in this area is that
after the production of the detailed 2010/11 budget, in preparing a financial update Obert opted not to
use the budget as starting point for Q1 variance and had to be steered back on track in this basic regard
by the Treasurer.”
iv) On Governance priorities, the reviewers suggest that: “One reviewer noted that Obert should try to
avoid “preaching” to the Board members. Meetings are a forum for informing, discussing,
troubleshooting and engaging.”

I strongly believe that this comment is in reference to the tension-laden communication of June 29,
where the President unfairly accused me of “lecturing”, in my communication to Sarah. If there was any
“preaching” to CAP AIDS Directors between May 2008 and December 2009, the Board ignored its own
responsibility by not cautioning the Executive Director.

I feel that it was unfair for the reviewers to discuss my 2010 performance. They short-changed me. I
strictly confined my self-evaluation to May 2008 to July 2009. I was not given the opportunity to provide
my self-evaluation for 2010. The first half of 2010 had its own dynamics. For the most part, it was toxic.
It also clear from the quotes above that the reviewers deliberately discussed only the perceived negative
aspects of my 2010 performance. They didn’t consider the fact that, soon after my breakdown, and
doctor’s advice that I should not work more 45 hours a week, I went straight back to the old routine –
60-80 hours a week! They make no mention of the fact that I coordinated the national B2CA, Toronto
B2CA, three CIDA reports, May 2010 Direct Mail and May 2010 Newsletter. I created the successful
proposal to Service Canada. I hired, trained, supervised and supported the Vancouver B2CA2010
Coordinator and 2010 Summer Student. None of that was evaluated. Frankly, I feel cheated!

b) A veil of secrecy and an “ambush”:
After my breakdown in January, Chris advised the reviewers that “I would like to suggest that we
postpone Obert's performance review process until such time that we have a better picture of his
medical condition and length of time he may need to be away.” The reviewers – Brian, Aarti and Sarah -
AGREED.

However, on Tuesday, March 2, Brian wrote to me: “Obert please be advised I would like to meet with
you on Friday at the CAP-AIDs office starting at 1130 or noon. Reason = I will be presenting you with the
performance review and discussing it with you…”

I felt ambushed and rushed. I informed Brian that I was concerned that that I had not been informed of
the resumption of the process. Brian responded with: “For your info about 2 weeks ago I was advised by
Kevin and Chris that we should now proceed ourselves and get this finished in time for your test results
on March 4.”

I felt that the evaluation process had resumed under a veil of secrecy, and lacked transparency. I felt
deliberately excluded. I became deeply concerned that the reviewers had reached their conclusions
without the required grasp of the depth and breadth of my activities and achievements, which could
only come from my self-review. Further, Brian’s e-mail caused me considerable anxiety.

Brian advised me to communicate with Kevin for further clarification. I asked Kevin why I had not been
informed about the resumption of the process. I explained that I didn’t feel comfortable being rushed,
and that I preferred to be given adequate time to respond, preferably in writing. This was the only way I
could provide qualitative and quantitative input to the process.

Kevin apologised that things had been “sprung” one me, and for failing to communicate to the Executive
Director that the process had resumed. He agreed that the process should not be rushed, that I should
not be “deprived of an opportunity to take time with the tool, gather your thoughts, reflect on the past
period, and prepare yourself. I know it may seem like one, but this is not meant to be an ambush.”

But the damage had already been done!

c) Reviewers were unduly rushed:
i) I do not believe that, in only two weeks, the reviewers were able to review openly and honestly, all
my activities and achievements, think about, and discuss, Executive Director’s areas of strength and
weakness. I don’t believe that the reviewers were able to consider that I had worked nights, early
mornings, weekends and 60-80 hours, between May, 2008, and December, 2009.
ii) I also felt unduly pressured! How could I evaluate my performance from May 2008 to December
2009 within 48 hours? Also, I was already in the midst of national B2CA, Toronto B2CA, CIDA reports,
May 2010 Direct Mail and May 2010 Newsletter. I had also started hiring the Vancouver B2CA2010
Coordinator.

d) Timing was bad for both CAP AIDS and the Executive Director:
The first half the year is not a good time to conduct a CAP AIDS employee evaluation. It’s a period of
intense mental and physical for the CAP AIDS Executive Director. January and February is prime planning
season for CAP AIDS’ campaigns of the year, and the budget. March to June is all about B2CA. This year,
it was also about the CIDA project, May newsletter, May DM campaign, Summer Student, etc.

e) Evaluation goals were not explained in advance:
The goals of the evaluation exercise were not discussed or explained prior to the exercise to enable the
Executive Director to fully understand the objectives of the evaluation process.

f) No evaluation was done 2008 (and the 2009 evaluation was only conducted after I requested it.):
This is wrong. An employee performance evaluation helps boost both employee personal development
and organizational goals. CAP AIDS is required to carry out an annual performance review of the
Executive Director. Without the review, I felt that CAP AIDS was not clear about Executive Director's
goals, required outcomes or outputs, and how the success of my contributions would be assessed. I feel
that CAP AIDS simply cheered me on while I was sacrificing my wellbeing to rebuild CAP AIDS’ broken
resource foundation, without much concern for my development and organizational improvement.

g) Original CAP AIDS evaluation tool was substituted without explanation
CAP AIDS has an original tool for the evaluation of the performance of the Executive Director’s
performance. It was not explained to the Executive Director why this tool was abandoned, and replaced
by Brian’s. It’s also important to point out that the new tool does not examine Board-Management
relations. Specifically, it does not provide the option for:
i) Expressing feelings the CAP AIDS Board needs to hear, which cannot be easily articulated - and
addressed – through regular communication and normal Board meetings
ii) Describing the Executive Director’s working relationship with CAP AIDS Directors and Volunteers
iii) Describing the problems or challenges Executive Director faced during the period under review, and
what was done to address them
iv) Articulating the tools developed in pursuit of CAP AIDS’s fundraising, communications, and other
objectives
v) Expressing whether Executive Director’s salary/compensation reflects his position/roles
vi) Articulating the risks Executive Director took during the evaluated period, and whether the risks
were worthwhile, etc?
vii) Describing “Public Engagement” activities, which are integral to the Executive Director’s position
and take up considerable time and resources

h) Incomplete representation of Executive Director’s work
The evaluation process captured only an insignificant fraction of the Executive Director’s activities, and
outcomes of such activities. It provides a severely-watered-down, inadequate and inaccurate picture of
my achievements.

First, the reviewers gathered their feedback before receiving the Executive Director self-evaluation.

Second, it seems (from the summaries) that the reviewers barely considered the activities and
accomplishments articulated in the Executive Director’s regular updates to the Board or represented by
new tools created/adopted, documents created and documents updated. As a result, reviewers’
feedback gives a severely watered-down representation of my contributions and
achievements/accomplishments.

Below are a few examples to support my argument:
i) Volunteer Development & Coordination: The reviewers evaluated the Executive Director’s Volunteer
Development & Coordination performance without:
(1) Interviewing any of the more than 15 volunteers the Executive Director recruited, engaged,
supervised or supported between May 2008 and December 2009. Instead, the feedback highlighted the
Executive Director’s fallout with one volunteer Sharlene Bourjot. Sharlene is a friend of Aarti, one of the
reviewers. The Executive Director rejected the initial video Sharlene had created for WAD 2009 without
consulting with me first. The video grossly misrepresented CAP AIDS. As custodian of the organization’s
key message, I made a difficult decision; I suggested that the video be extensively edited. I provided
suggestions for the revision. Sharlene felt unappreciated but she continued to volunteer for WAD2009.

(2) Evaluating the volunteer-related job descriptions developed between May 2008 and December
2009. The job descriptions reflect CAP AIDS’ staffing needs.

ii) Fundraising: Activities & Outcomes: The reviewers’ feedback state that “Fundraising: coordinated
support for B2CA 2009; organized successful WAD 2009 event; secured 2 contributions from major
donors; coordinated direct mail piece from Africa, managed donations/receipts etc.”

The line relates mostly to 2009. It’s not clear that the reviewers adequately considered the Executive
Director’s performance in 2008, particularly Bike 2 CAP AIDS, SUADS and 3 rd party fundraisers. There is
no indication that the following were evaluated:
(1) Spring/May 2009 Direct Mail Appeal
(2) 4 Third Party Fundraisers supported
(3) Submission to Kenoli Foundation
(4) Proposal submitted to Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Social Justice Fund
(5) Proposal submitted to Lundin for Africa
(6) Proposal submitted to HIV/AIDS Global Engagement Grants Programme (2008-2009)
(7) Executive Director’s personal contributions as a monthly and regular donor
(8) Executive Director’s personal fundraising efforts for Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2008, and Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2009
(9) Revised CanadaHelps profile
(10) New fundraising tools introduced: PayPal account; Eventbrite Online ticket and event
marketing software and SUADS blog/website

iii) Development & Management of Organizational Structure: None of the 5 individuals I interviewed,
hired, trained supervised and evaluated between May 2008 and December 2009 were interviewed

iv) How did the reviewers evaluate the Executive Director’s Finance, Human Resources Management &
Administration performance without:

(1) Considering the breadth and depth of the “Finance” portfolio – banking, budget formulation, wire
transfers, financial audit, financial records and documentation, periodic reports and clarifications for
bookkeeper, commute to the bank and other signatories’ offices, etc?

(2) Consulting with the bookkeeper, Zemede? Zemede and I work together at least 5 hours a week. The
Executive Director generates all the original reports Zemede uses to create financial reports for CAP
AIDS.

v) Public Engagement, Communication, PR
The reviewers’ feedback says: “Communications: produced newsletters & direct mail letters;
updated/overhauled website; supported Communications Committee in developing communications
plan; developed B2CA brochure…” It’s unclear whether the following were evaluated:
(1) SUADS Blog/Website
(2) Monthly in-house newsletter, Ubuntu Spirit (May/June 2008)
(3) Winter 2009 Newsletter
(4) Spring / May 2009 Newsletter
(5) New/overhauled website:
(a) Original website content updated
(b) New website content created
(c) New HomePage design and content
(6) New Communications Tools:
(a) New Facebook Page created, and updates done
(b) New Twitter Account, and updates done
(c) MailChimp E-mail Marketing & E-list Management Tool, and campaigns carried out in 2009
(d) New YouTube Account and initial videos chosen to represent CAP AIDS’ position on the global
HIV+AIDS pandemic

i) The Executive Director’s skills, strengths and achievements were severely understated
The evaluation gives a severely watered-down representation of the Executive Director’s contribution to
CAP AIDS’ events - and achievements - in the last two years. Below are a few examples:

i) CIDA VSF S-064673 Project: Building Sustainable Livelihoods for AIDS Orphans and Caregivers In
Uganda and Ethiopia.
The review says that the Executive Director “supported successful effort to secure CIDA funding.” This
understatement downplays the Executive Director’s research skills, proposal/grant writing skills,
creativity, ability to articulate both CAP AIDS past achievements and HIV+AIDS in Africa, communication
skills and creativity. It downplays the Executive Director’s pivotal role in helping CAP AIDS to secure its
single biggest check to date – $489 500. I played a central role in the conception and creation of the
Project:
(1)I consulted extensively with Gizaw, Naomi, Helen (Ethiopia), Kevin and Roderick Haney (CIDA)
(2)I studied hundreds of pages of CIDA documentation & guidelines
(3)I gathered project input and partner profiles from CAP AIDS Uganda and four prospective project
partner
(4)I studied and articulated results from CAP AIDS’ past projects - the Safe Livelihoods Project, Youth
United Project, Sponsor a local Hero Project and Public Engagement
(5)I projected CAP AIDS’ future aspirations
(6)I created the title of the Project, which articulates both CAP AIDS’ past achievements and future
aspirations
(7)I developed first 29-page DRAFT PROPOSAL narrative, defining, in detail: activities, beneficiaries,
public engagement in Canada, partner profiles, context, roles & responsibilities, expected results, etc.
(8)I developed INITIAL DRAFT BUDGET, detailing allocations for: partners; Canada Program Support;
Africa Program Support; Canada Public Engagement, etc.
(9)I collected and edited potential partners’ profiles
(10) I developed 21-page FINAL PROPOSAL narrative
(11) I developed FINAL PROJECT BUDGET
(12) I uploaded narrative proposal and budget onto CIDA RTF proposal template
(13) I submitted proposal to CIDA
(14) I created 6-page “clarifications and improvements to the narrative” as requested by CIDA
(15) I created “Revised Budget” requested by CIDA

ii) Website
The evaluation acknowledges only that the Executive Director “updated/overhauled website”. This is an
understatement. The Executive Director invested more than 8 months on the project and accomplished
the following:

(1) Negotiated the cost of converting the CAP AIDS website from static to dynamic format. The dynamic
format has given CAP AIDS more control of the Content Management System (CMS) than the
organization ever had before.

(2) Carried out extensive research, which sought to give the new website a competitive edge

(3) Redesigned website’s HomePage and introduced a radical new look and feel by:
(a) Introducing images depicting CAP AIDS’ work/beneficiaries in Africa
(b) Introducing buttons linking website to CAP AIDS’s 3 social media accounts - Facebook, Twitter &
YouTube
(c) Introducing PayPal button, linking website to CAP AIDS’ donation page on PayPal
(d) Introducing CanadaHelps button, linking website to CAP AIDS’ profile on CanadaHelps
(e) Introducing Letter From Africa link on navigation bar
(f) Introducing new page footer links to: FAQs, Terms of Use, Copyright & Disclaimer, Privacy Policy and
Sitemap

(4) Updated most of the Original Content: Enhanced Pages include: DONATE, Contact Us, Making A
Difference, Get Involved, Our People and Upcoming Events. All CAP AIDS’ 7 campaigns/events for 2010
were added to the Upcoming Events page, with links to external fundraising sites.

(5) Created New Content: 20-plus new pages or sub-pages were created, including:
(a) CAP AIDS Uganda
(b) News
(c) Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2010
(d) CAP AIDS STWM Charity Challenge 2010
(e) Letter from Africa
(f) Board of Directors (2010-11)
(g) Our Local Heroes
(h) Our Key Volunteers
(i) CAP AIDS Financials
(j) Employment & Internships
(k) How to Organize a 3rd Party Event
(l) Spread the Word
(m) Match Employers Donation
(n) High School Students and Youth
(o) Donate Securities
(p) Donate Aeroplan Miles
(q) Organize a 3rd party Event
(r) Our Local Heroes
(s) CAP AIDS Uganda Advisory Board
(t) CAP AIDS Interns

(6) Introduced new tools/links that enhance CAP AIDS fundraising and communications efforts:
Facebook Page; Twitter; YouTube; PayPal; and CAP AIDS profile on CanadaHelps

(7)Improved the website’s social interactivity by adding the “Share” Button on most pages to allow users
to share CAP AIDS content online.

(8)Uploaded CAP AIDS documents: Audited Financial Statements and newsletters.

(9) Introduced a “News” page to enable CAP AIDS to create its own original news content

iii) On Program Management, the evaluation did not seem to have considered:
(1) Any of the more than 100 original documents/reports compiled between May 2008 and December
2009
(2) Any of the more than 30 reports/documents revised or updated between May 2008 and December
2009
(3) Executive Director’s management of the last 3 months, and final reporting of, the Safe Livelihoods
for Youth in AIDS-orphaned Families Project (2008)
(4) Executive Director’s management of the last 4 months, and final reporting of, the Youth United to
CAP AIDS Project (2008)
(5) Feedback received from CIDA on the final report for the Safe Livelihoods for Youth in AIDS-orphaned
Families Project (2008)
(6) Feedback received from Canadian Society for International Health (CSIH) on the final report for the
Youth United to CAP AIDS Project (2008)
(7) Executive Director’s management of the 2008 International Youth Internship Program (ICAD/CIDA -
IYIP) (2008)
(8) Executive Director’s management of the 2008 Summer Student Internship Program: hiring; training;
supervision; evaluation and reporting.
(9) Executive Director’s working relationship with the Director of Programs in Africa and CAP AIDS
Uganda Program Director, Naomi Ayot, with whom I worked closely on the Safe Livelihoods Project
(2008), International Youth Internship Program (2008), Bike Distribution Program, Sponsor a Local Hero
Program, 2009 Direct Mail campaign, etc.

iv) On Public Relations - Activities & Outcomes, the review does not seem to have captured a significant
fraction of the Executive Director’s achievements. The reviewers only state that the Executive Director
“spoke to WUSC students”. The Executive Director actually performed more than 17 distinct and
demanding public relations/engagement activities as follows:

May – December 2008:
(1) Represented CAP AIDS, and presented, at WUSC’s 2008 AGA in Ottawa
(2) Signed up CAP AIDS for the 3rd year as a “community partner” of the University of Toronto Centre for
Ethics’ Community Research Partnerships in Ethics Program
(3) Represented CAP AIDS and presented at Centre for Ethics’ Community Research Partnerships in
Ethics Program’s Dec 11, 2008, meeting
(4) Hosted and supervised student, Julian Gagnier , whose final paper was chosen for publication by the
Centre
(5) Represented CAP AIDS at the University of Toronto Centre for Ethics’ Community Research
Partnerships in Ethics Program 2008 Final Conference and responded to research student’s
presentations and findings
(6) Jointly manned the CAP AIDS table Toronto Bike Week event
(7) Appeared as a guest on CBC TV on Thursday, July 10, 2008, to comment on a landmark HIV-related
ruling in Kenya; identified as CAP AIDS Director
(8) Represented CAP AIDS at Blair Bowen’s “Golf to CAP AIDS” event and addressed the participants
(9) Addressed 2008 CAP AIDS World AIDS Day event
(10) Signed the GTAG World AIDS Day sign-on letter to the Prime Minister
January – December 2009:
(11) Represented CAP AIDS at Kate Jongbloed’s Fundraiser birthday party
(12) Attended, and presented, at Health Canada’s HIV/AIDS Former Grants Recipients Knowledge
Exchange Meeting in Ottawa, Feb 9 -10.
(13) Represented CAP AIDS at the University of Toronto Centre for Ethics’ Community Research
Partnerships in Ethics Program final conference in April and responded to research students’
presentation and findings
(14) Facilitated at WUSC’s Training Workshop in August 2009 (delivered 3 presentations focusing
on the importance of bikes and bike ambulances in the fight against HIV+AIDS in Africa)
(15) Addressed 2009 CAP AIDS World AIDS Day event
(16) Presented at Zimbabwean Cultural Exchange and Fundraiser, Toronto
(17) Hosted CAP AIDS’ first official Donor and Volunteer Appreciation Dinner
(18) Consulted with Zimbabweans in Toronto and Gizaw about potential engagement in
Zimbabwe
(19) Invited the Zimbabweans to the Donor and Volunteer Appreciation Dinner to meet with
Gizaw and CAP AIDS Board members
(20) Endorsed Global Treatment Access Group (GTAG) Platform for Action 2009 – calls on the
Canadian government to meet its international obligations to improve access to essential medicines and
other aspects of HIV prevention, care, treatment and support in developing countries.

I am deeply concerned that none of the key individuals I have interacted with during my public
engagement activities have been consulted. These include, Professor Melissa Williams, University of
Toronto, Blair Bowen (Golf 2 CAP AIDS), Emily Chartrand (WUSC & CAP AIDS), Rosemary Forbes (ICAD,
International Youth Internship Program)

“Obert’s Real Strength”: The rating under - Fundraising, Communications and PR, the reviewers conclude
that “Obert’s real strength lies in public speaking and written communication where his passion for and
knowledge of the issue of HIV/AIDs in Africa is inspiring.” The statement is grossly reductionist. I have
proven expertise and competencies in:
v Proposal/Grant writing (e.g. CIDA Proposal, Service Canada Proposal)
v Project management
v Volunteer management
v Project reporting
v Public engagement
v Public speaking
v Advocacy
v Social media
v Strategic thinking and management
v Crisis management
v Office management
v Knowledge/experience management
v Public administration
v Workshop/group facilitation
v Decision-making
v Problem-solving
v Planning
v Workshop facilitation
v Journalism
v Creative non-fiction writing
v Leadership/directing
v Creativity
v Research
v Communication

j) Process understated depth and breadth of CAP AIDS workload
I was utterly shocked to learn that some CAP AIDS Directors think that CAP AIDS’ current staffing crisis
can be solved by employing a “dedicated half time (or greater) office/admin/fundraising assistant if the
overall workload of the organization is to become manageable for him (Executive Director).” CAP AIDS
effectively ceased to be an organization that can be realistically run by one employee in 2006. In the
summer of 2007, the organization almost fulfilled its staff requirements - with 4 part time employees
(ED, Program Coordinator, and 2 Summer Students). Additionally, the organization hired 2 contracted
event coordinators. In 2009, the workload increased substantially with the new website, social medial
tools, e-mail marketing tool and new scale-up approach for CAP AIDS events. Further, CIDA approved
funding for the following 3 employees to work on the CIDA VSF Project S-064673 project: Executive
Director (1 day per week); Project Officer (2 days per week), and Public Engagement Coordinator (1 day
per week)

Denial does not help the growth of the organization. Most importantly, as we move forward with the
hiring of the next Executive Director, we need to be more realistic and honest.

k) Deliberate “silence” on the personal sacrifices made by the Executive Director
The reviewers made no effort to interrogate the work environment at CAP AIDS between May 2008 and
July 2010, which was highly exploitative, highly stressful and characterized by: overwhelming workload;
sky-rocketing and highly disproportionate organizational expectations; a precarious resource base; acute
staff shortage; emotional isolation; micro-managing by the Board; blurred lines of accountability; and
board interference in management processes and decisions. They made no effort to acknowledge the
personal sacrifices I made against this harsh environment.

The closest the review comes to acknowledging this exploitative situation is this statement by reviewer
#2: “There have been some important time management and/or workload issues that have led to Obert
working significantly more than he ought to, to the detriment of his own well-being and the
endangerment of his health.”

As stated earlier, CAP AIDS effectively ceased to be an organization that can be realistically run by one
employee in 2006. In the summer of 2007, the organization almost fulfilled its staff requirements - with
4 part time employees (ED, Program Coordinator, and 2 Summer Students).

CAP AIDS’ staff compliment sharply declined to 1 full-time employee (Acting) Executive Director and
one, 7-week Summer Student and 3 contracted (8 weeks) Bike-a-thon event coordinators around the
time I took over as Executive Director in May 2008. I was responsible for: Fundraising (fundraising
events and Direct Mail campaigns); Volunteer Development and Coordination; Public Engagement;
Governance/Board Support; Development & Management of Organizational Structure; Communications
and Public Relations; Programs (project proposals, project management, project reporting) Finance;
Human Resources Management; General Administration; Annual General Meeting and Supporting 3 rd
party events and developing a new multi-year proposal to be submitted to the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA).

In 2009 the staff compliment consisted of 1 full time employee Executive Director and 1 temporary
administrative assistant (June - September). My workload increased substantially as a result of: the
extensive overhaul of the CAP AIDS website; the development of new social media/communications
tools; a new scale-up approach to 3rd party events and the new CIDA project, approved in October 2009.

In 2010 the staff compliment is 1 full-time employee (Acting) Executive Director and 1 summer student
(7 weeks). The organization hired a paid coordinator for the Vancouver bike-a-thon event in May/June.
My responsibilities further increased. CIDA approved funding for the following 3 employees to work on
the project. But CAP AIDS did not hire these required resources. So, in addition to the regular
event/fundraising and administration responsibilities listed above, also performed the duties of
Executive Director (1 day per week), Project Officer (2 days per week) and Public Engagement
Coordinator (1 day per week) the new project in the last 9 months.

Consequently, between May 2008 and July 2010, I:
(1) Worked an average 60 – 80 hours per week
(2) Worked at least 45 weekends
(3) Worked overnight at least 30 times
(4) Worked more than 150 evenings
(5) Made more than 50 trips to the bank
(6) Commuted at least 30 times to CAP AIDS Signatories offices to get checks and wire transfers signed
(7) Coordinated 9 fundraising events
(8) Conducted more than 19 public engagement events
(9) Worked a minimum of 6 000 unpaid hours (Minimum 1900 in 2008; minimum 3000 in 2009 and
minimum 1 700 in 2010)
(10) Created or responded more than 6 000 e-mails
(11) Worked most Canadian statutory holidays
(12) Created than 120 original documents/reports for CAP AIDS
(13) Revised/Updated more than 50 CAP AIDS reports/documents

As CAP AIDS’ only employee between May 2008 and July 2010, I was:
· Severely exploited
· Directly and indirectly forced to overwork
· Neglected (CAP AIDS Board’s neglect of, and contribution to, highly stressful,
· unsupportive & exploitative work environment)
· Routinely insulted and judged
· Unfairly and regularly blamed for CAP AIDS’ shortcoming and Board-Management tensions
· On several occasions, deliberately undermined
· Harassed several times (between November 2009 and July 2010)
· On several occasions, emotionally manipulated

This harsh environment has already severely affected my health. Earlier this year, I had a physical
breakdown due to exhaustion. I now experience regular back pains from sitting in the same position for
extended periods of time. The workload has made it virtually impossible to have a decent life-work
balance.

l) Biased reviewers
The CAP AIDS Director Position Description states that “All Directors of the Board shall assist in an
annual performance review of the Executive Director”. Most of the 5 reviewers had shown a significant
amount of unfair criticism of the Executive Director’s performance before the process.

m) Insulting comments by reviewers
Reviewer #5 suggests that: “In short, Obert inherited a difficult situation and should be applauded for the
effort he has made and his belief in the cause. That being said, my #1 concern is that today Obert does
not yet have the package of skills and experience that one should expect in an NGO Director.”

My response: I led CAP AIDS a potentially perilous transitional period, and restored the organization’s
stability by securing CAP AIDS’ biggest check ever through CIDA funding. When I was working 60-80
hours a week, weekends, evenings and early mornings creating the new CIDA VSF Project, re-creating
the website, coordinating events, managing project, compiling project reports, creating new fundraiding
and communications tool, updating organizational documents, creating new documents, conducting
public engagement, etc., you cheered me on. Now, after I have created a solid foundation for CAP AIDS’
future, you decide that “Obert does not yet have the package of skills and experience that one should
expect in an NGO Director.” How insulting! It seems to me that the “NGO Director” CAP AIDS seeks is
nothing short of a superhuman, miracle worker!

I strongly doubt that it is possible for the Executive Director and CAP AIDS Board to think about and plan
for the year ahead in a spirit of shared commitment to CAP AIDS mission, the Executive Director’s
professional development, and to the growth of the CAP AIDS Board. Most importantly, my conscience
tells that accepting the results of this flawed process is tantamount to gross self-devaluation.

11) THE BLAME GAME
The Executive Directors has been variously and unfairly blamed in the last couple of months. Below are a
few examples:
a) Financial situation: The interpretation of the financial situation has consistently and strongly sought
to solely blame the Executive Director CAP AIDS’ modest fundraising performance in the last two years.
Noticeably, the interpretation has deliberately failed to consider:
i) The downturn in the economy the difficult economic and fundraising climate of the past 18 months
ii) The declining attention being paid to AIDS in Africa by the Western public and governments
iii) CAP AIDS lack of a major institutional donor (ie CIDA)
iv) As described in the introduction, CAP AIDS’ fragile financial situation and misrepresentation of CAP
AIDS’ future fundraising prospects at the beginning of 2008
v) The overwhelming workload as articulated earlier
vi) CAP AIDS staffing crisis

b) Overworking: One Director suggested that the Executive Director has a “tendency to work himself to
the point of exhaustion…”

c) Volunteers engagement: I have been unfairly blamed for CAP AIDS’ reduced capacity to effectively
engage volunteers

12) HARASSMENT BY MANZUR MALIK BETWEEN NOVEMBER 2009 AND JUNE 2010
My understanding of standards of performance of Board Members is that Directors carry out their
duties in an ethical and professional manner, including proper use of authority. They are advised against
exercising individual authority over staff and volunteers. They are expected to speak positively of the
organization to the public.

On several occasions since being elected to the Board last September, Manzur violated CAP AIDS Board
of Directors Code of Conduct articles 2.3, 2.5 and 2.7. On the eve of World AIDS Day 2009, he acted in
the following ways:
a) Complained that the CAP AIDS Board was “not engaged”. Manzur was then a new Director, barely
two months with the organization, and he already spoke for the Board. If Manzur was “speaking for the
Board”, why did the Board wait this long to inform the Executive director that it was “not engaged”?

b) Called around 9pm one day to criticise me for a posting I had posted on the CAP AIDS World AIDS
Day 2009 cause on Facebook

c) Called to complain that Aarti was not effective as WAD 2009 volunteer coordinator because she had
not called him as earlier agreed.

Manzur’s communication forced me and WAD2009 volunteers to divert our energy away from
fundraising for WAD 2009, and to work over the next weekend to create an update for the Board. For
the record, I registered my concerns about Manzur’s communication with both Kevin and Aarti. Kevin
seemed genuinely concerned but, to my knowledge, the issue was never brought to the attention of the
Board.

d) During a Communications Committee teleconference in March, Manzur made a veiled criticism of
my performance in the presence of other CAP AIDS Directors

e) Earlier this year Manzur discussed, in a severely negative way, CAP AIDS' leadership and
performance challenges with a former director. He discussed my performance in a negative, critical and
highly litigable way. Significantly, Manzur indicated that he would oppose my appointment/hiring as
CAP AIDS’ Executive Director.

The former Director called me to say that she was concerned that a CAP AIDS Director would speak
negatively about the organization with an outsider. I immediately called the President and informed him
of this development. Later, Kevin informed me that he'd talked to Manzur and advised him against
acting or speaking against CAP AIDS' privacy policies.

I was personally hurt by things Manzur allegedly said. He barely understood the CAP AIDS workload but
he negatively judged my performance. But I decided not to take things personally. I have grown to being
judged and unfairly criticized, (implicitly and explicitly), by CAP AIDS Directors. But most importantly, I
trusted that Kevin had conclusively and satisfactorily resolved the issue.

On June 14, at about 8.30pm, Manzur confronted me near the CAP AIDS office. It was the final week of
B2CA2010 and I was working late in the evening. I was only my way back to the office. Manzur
demanded that I accept that he had not said the things attributed to him. He threatened to resign if I
didn’t his side of the story. He demanded that we talk to Kevin right there. He called Kevin on his mobile
phone. When he couldn’t get hold of Kevin, he insisted that Kevin had APOLOGIZED to him. When he
mentioned that Kevin had apologised, I realised that any further communication would only escalate the
issue. I walked away!

The next day, Kevin called me. Our conversation was uncharacteristically tense. I felt that Kevin was
upset with me over the confrontation with Manzur. I felt that he blamed me for walking away to avoid
the conflict. I didn’t ask what he and Manzur had discussed but Kevin said he COULD NOT AFFORD TO
LET MANZUR GO. He mentioned something about Manzur providing potential access to funding in the
Canadian labour sector. I didn’t understand his reference to letting people.

As I write, no concrete steps have been taken to resolve this conflict. Instead, it seems that I’m expected
to resolve it. In his – e-mail, Kevin - “My assumption is that you will write this to Manzur and invite me
(or another third party) to mediate if and as required.”

I feel that the CAP AIDS Board should have resolved this Director-Employee CONFLICT. The Director
violated CAP AIDS Directors Code of Conduct. I also strongly believe that the conflict significantly
factored into the tension-filled communication of June 29.

13) CONFUSING AND HURTFUL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
JANUARY 2010 AND JUNE 2010

The CAP AIDS Board’s reaction to my breakdown in January was hardly in good faith. Once again, I was
variously told that I should have recruited volunteers to help with the office move, which triggered the
breakdown. My doctor had prescribed numerous of tests stretching over a couple of weeks. I had never
had so many tests at once in my life. I was scared that I would receive the worst piece of news about my
health after the tests.

The President’s response was especially confusing and hurtful. I felt that, instead of helping me through
a difficult personal crisis, the CAP AIDS Board was more concerned about reducing the risk for CAP AIDS.
I felt that the Board was taking advantage of the crisis and trying to manipulate me into resigning from
CAP AIDS. Our conversation left me feeling:
Intimidated
Emotionally manipulated.
Unfairly accused
Emotionally Manipulated
That I was being forced or enticed into relinquishing control of decision making -
Forced to feel guilt and shame
As if I was a liability to CAP AIDS
Threatened (with replacement)
Judged (on my communication to CIDA)
That my emotional state was being judged and misrepresented
Forced to feel as if I was unable to continue with my duties
Forced to accept manufactured negative ideas about myself and my performance
Belittled, demeaned, - and my achievements-.
Neglected. I received an unfulfilled promise of help
Stifled

Kevin and I have always discussed serious CAP AIDS issues in a relaxed, semi or non-formal way. But
after my breakdown, the President’s approach changed dramatically. It became noticeably passive-
aggressive. A tele-conference with President and Chair of the Board was arranged to discuss my health
situation. This arrangement was intimidating. I felt the full force of the organization against me.

During the discussions, a suggestion was made that I take an “extended break” or a “significant break”
or a “more complete break”, from CAP AIDS. A tempting promise was made to secure a financial
package to sustain me for up to six months. At first I thought these offers were being made in good faith
and in the interests of both myself and CAP AIDS. But I became suspicious after the Directors’ insisted
that I consider the offers even before the results of my medical tests were out. It was suggested that,
with my undoubted commitment, I would still volunteer for CAP AIDS after I have left the organization.
At this stage, I felt that I was being emotionally manipulated and enticed into quitting. I felt that an
attempt was being made to strip me of my sense of control over my health situation and future.

During one of the conversations, I was indirectly and unfairly accused of behaving as if I was
“indispensable” by resisting suggestions to make a decision before the test results. This word was
especially hurtful. I have never considered myself indispensable. Having experienced the full impact of
HIV+AIDS in Africa, I now consider myself blessed to be HIV-free and to live amidst plenty in Canada. I
am in this fight to help, and not for glory .

The conversations made me feel shameful and guilty; it made me question my worth as a human being
and my value to CAP AIDS. On numerous occasions, I felt as if, even with solid achievements such the
new website and CIDA VSF project, I had become a liability to CAP AIDS. I felt as if I was obliged to leave
CAP AIDS as a result of the breakdown. How else could I understand statements such as: “its better
than continuing on an unsustainable and ultimately counterproductive path".

The Executive Director’s potential replacement was discussed. Sarah Pugh, Laura Macchione and Kate
Jongbloed were suggested. I felt threatened with replacement.

My doctor had prescribed a series of tests and an immediate reduction of work hours from 60-80 a week
to “no more than 45 hours per week”. A promise for help was made. A discussion was started with Kate,
but nothing ever came out of it.

I really needed help. I needed to slow down. But the confusing conversations, lack of support and unfair
judgements of my performance by Directors forced me to feel that I had to prove myself once more. I
had no choice but to return to the routine and sacrifice my health once more. I returned to working 60–
80 hours a week, nights and weekends.

It seems to me that the CAP AIDS Board deliberately choses to see not fault in my performance during
critical moments for the organization. A semblance of normalcy prevailed between March and June as I
performed the following: worked on: 2010-11 Budget; coordinated National B2CA 2010; coordinated
B2CA2010 Toronto; created a successful proposal - Canada Summer Jobs Proposal; hired, trained,
supervised and supported Vancouver Bike-a-thon Coordinator; hired, trained, supervised 2010 Summer
Student intern; coordinated the May Direct Mail Campaign; coordinated the May Newsletter; compiled
the 2nd Quarter Narrative Report and Semi-annual Progress Report for CIDA project.

After B2CA2010, the hurtful communication resumed. The tone by Directors became passive-aggressive
and judgemental again. The same words or phrases that seemed to deliberately seek to portray me
negatively surfaced.

This communication made me feel that my emotional state was being judged and misrepresented:
“Your email to Sarah was a further sign of this for me. The antagonism and bitterness cannot continue -
it may destroy the organization you have given so much to. We - the Board and you - need to reflect
honestly on what is best for you and for CAP AIDS over the coming months. I hope we can talk about this
soon (no "written responses" please - a gentle and truthful conversation is what's required).”

When did I express bitterness or antagonism? Why didn’t the Board caution me then?

Referring the Manzur issue above, the President said: “… I have the strong feeling from this email and
your other emails that you have reached the point where you need a significant break from CAP AIDS.“
AND “The ED role seems to have stretched you to a breaking point.”

The President’s e-mail on July 2 made me feel that I was being emotionally manipulated – again. The e-
mail said: “Obert, I think you know that I am deeply grateful for what you have given CAP AIDS and that I
have a great deal of respect and admiration for your skills as an orator, your dedicated service, and the
way you can articulate the vision and values of CAP AIDS. I will always love you for this.” And then “…
you have reached the point where you need a significant break from CAP AIDS.“ AND “The ED role seems
to have stretched you to a breaking point.”

14) MANIPULATED, MISINTERPRETED AND VIOLENCE-LADDEN COMMUNICATION OF TUESDAY, JUNE
29, 2010
On Monday, I received a (request) from Sarah Pugh to “talk about what we think went right with the
Toronto event and also where we might improve it for next year.” In response, I gave three reasons why
he could not meet the Director that week:
a) pressing office priorities for that week

b) the “Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2010 campaign was still open and post-event reporting process had not
started. I suggested that the Director put her evaluation in writing so that it would be incorporated into
the Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2010 Campaign report, which will include a post-campaign/event evaluation by key
volunteer

c) I was hesitant to “cultivate a culture where Directors can just call the office any time to discuss
"what went wrong" and "what went right" with events…”, a development that would translate into
“either extra work for the office or a re-adjustment of prior weekly or daily plans”. I suggested a
constructive post-event conversation which should discuss context and process, and not just the day of
event. May I suggest that we go this route:
i) written post-event reports from event coordinators or coordinating team
ii) post-event meeting or telephone conference involving office staff, Directors, regional event
coordinators and select volunteers who participated in events
iii) Third, final report, deriving from (first) and (second).

My response was informed by:
The CAP AIDS Board of Directors Code of Conduct 2.5: “Board Directors’ interaction with the Executive
Director, staff, or volunteers must recognize the lack of authority vested in individuals except when
explicitly Board authorized.”
CAP AIDS Board of Directors Code of Conduct 2.7: “Except for participation in Board deliberation about
whether reasonable interpretation of Board policy has been achieved by the Executive Director, Board
Directors will not express individual judgments of performance of the Executive Director, staff, or
volunteers of CAP AIDS.”
The CAP AIDS Director Job Description: “Board Directors set broad policies and goals for CAP AIDS while
ensuring and respecting that the Executive Director of CAP AIDS implements and manages the affairs of
CAP AIDS and its programs. Note that individual Board Directors hold no authority to make decisions
independently and as such their authority devolves only from their participation in Board of Directors
decisions.”

The resultant communication left me feeling:
Humiliated
Demeaned
Disempowered
Embarrassed
Intimidated
Undermined
Deliberately misrepresented
Bullied
Deliberately misunderstood

It is important that I reproduce, verbatim, the communication of June 28 and 29:

On Monday, June 28, Sarah wrote: “Hi Obert, Hope you are doing well in the G20 police state that is
Toronto....though hopefully things are calmer today than over the weekend! Craziness! I was hoping to
catch you by phone sometime this week for a kind of post-bike-a-thon check in, to talk about what we
think went right with the Toronto event and also where we might improve it for next year. A general
lessons-learned type of thing.... I'm fairly flexible, except for today and tomorrow afternoon, so maybe
Wednesday or Thursday? Let me know what works for you. Also, I have a couple of cheques to send
your way from two of my sponsors who pledged online. Talk with you soon! Cheers, Sarah”

On the same day, I responded with: “Hi Sarah, How are you? And thanks for your e-mail. I'll not be able
to talk on the phone about B2CA2010 this week due to the following 3 reasons:

Pressing office priorities for this week, including: planning for Public Engagement potion of the CIDA
project; preparation of CIDA Advance Payment Request for July-September; preparation of summer 2010
grant proposal; continuing training and supervision of 2010 summer student; end-of-month bill
payments; my input into the ED review process; tax receipting for Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2010; inancial reviews
and updates with Zemede (who has been away for the last six weeks) and preparation for 2009-10 Audit
process

As per my June 25 e-mail, the Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2010 campaign is open until July 2 and so the post-event
reporting process does not start until next week. In the meantime, I would like to suggest that you put
your evaluation in writing and I will incorporate it into my Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2010 Campaign report, which
will be shared with other Directors, staff and volunteers. The campaign report will include: Toronto event
report; Ottawa event report; Vancouver event report; Victoria event report; Campaign/event evaluation
by key volunteers, such as yourself, Aarti, Kevin, Blair, Rainos, etc.

I'm a little hesitant to cultivate a culture where Directors can just call the office any time to discuss "what
went wrong" and "what went right" with events, especially so soon after events. Every such call usually
translates into either extra work for the office or a re-adjustment of prior weekly or daily plans.
Considering the fact that all Directors do volunteer for events, and that the office is severely short-
staffed, such a situation would not be easily manageable.

Also, I think a constructive post-event conversation should discuss context and process, and not just the
day of event. May I suggest that we go this route: First, written post-event reports from event
coordinators or coordinating teams; Second, post-event meeting or telephone conference involving office
staff, Directors, regional event coordinators and select volunteers who participated in events; and Third,
final report, deriving from (first) and (second).

Let me know what you think.

On another note, by "we", are you referring to you and Aarti? I am expecting a different report (and
perspective) from her as she was one of the 3-person team that coordinated the Toronto event and also
volunteered for the day of. Cheers, Obert Madondo. Acting Executive Director. CAP AIDS”

Fred responded to my e-mail with: “Obert, I am inclined to agree with you. May I suggest you table this
concern at the next Board Meeting. Regards. Fred Opio”

But a few hours late, Kevin responded to my e-mail with: “Dear Obert, I was concerned by both the tone
and the content of your response to Sarah's offer to meet with you to de-brief the Toronto bike-a-thon.
The tone was antognostic, lecturing, and defensive, and the content was unfair. Sarah and Aarti have
prepared some feedback and writing and will share this with you but, as they did have some serious
concerns, they wanted to discuss them in a way that would be constructive and lead to growth and
improvement rather than simply firing off an email.

There is one element of your email that I would like to contest. You have said that you do not want to
"cultivate a culture" of feedback, reflection, constructive input, etc. In fact, that is exactly the sort of
culture we want - one in which all stakedholders are encouraged to engage in constructive feedback,
learning, growth. Not just Board member to ED, but board to board, staff to staff, volunteer to all, etc.
During our last workshop with Danny, we agreed that, as a group, we would all do what we can for CAP
AIDS, step on each others toes and make mistakes, recognize when we step on each others toes and
make mistakes, have the freedom and courage to tell each other, acknowledge mistakes, think about
how to make it better, and move on, confident that we all share the same goals and care about each
other. So I am concerned that you are trying to stifle this.

I hope you'll be able to engage with the volunteers involved in all the bike-a-thons in a spirit of open
learning and constructive feedback so we can make B2CA 2011 even better. We should go beyond
written reports and have open conversations. Thanks Obert. Kevin”

d) I feel that the CAP AIDS Director’s Code of Conduct was violated in both Sarah’ initial
communication and the President’s response to my e-mail. Further, my communication was grossly
misinterpreted:

i) Kevin said “Sarah and Aarti have prepared some feedback and writing and will share this with you
but, as they did have some serious concerns…”

Sarah mentioned no “serious concerns” in her e-mail. It seems to me that Sarah and Aarti
communicated their “serious concerns” to Kevin, obviously judging my performance, before trying to
force a meeting with me. Is that fair?

ii) Kevin said “You have said that you do not want to "cultivate a culture" of feedback, reflection,
constructive input, etc.”

This is a gross and malicious misrepresentation of my communication. I said “I'm a little hesitant to
“cultivate a culture” where Directors can just call the office any time to discuss "what went wrong" and
"what went right" with events...” I absolutely expressed no objection to “feedback, reflect and
constructive input”.

iii) Kevin said: “I hope you'll be able to engage with the volunteers involved in all the bike-a-thons in a
spirit of open learning and constructive feedback so we can make B2CA 2011 even better.”

The statement is unfair. Even as I coordinated B2CA national and B2CA Toronto, and May DM, May
newsletter, CIDA project reporting, I tried to engage key B2CA2010 volunteers as humanely possible.
The communication I exchanged with Lindsay Marsh, Blair Bowen, Kevin Perkins, Victoria coordinating
team, etc., is available for your considerable.

iv) The President accused me of “trying to stifle” “constructive feedback, learning, growth.” In her
follow-up e-mail, copied only to Kevin and Aarti, Sarah said, “… I am surprised by your unavailability or
unwillingness to chat about the bike-a-thon, and hope you might reconsider that.”

Again, this is not fair. In my communication to Sarah, I suggested a reasonable way forward.

v) Both Sarah and Kevin accused me of being DEFENSIVE about my Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2010 performance.

I feel that they just tried to pressure me into a manufactured state of defensiveness so that-. My B2CA
performance for 2008, 2009 and 2010 is quite decent considering the-.
(1)Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2007 raised $59 000 as a result of: 2 paid CAP AIDS employees, 2 paid summer
student interns, 3 paid coordinators, a decent campaign budget and concerted personal fundraising
effort by CAP AIDS Directors.
(2)Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2008 raised $36 000 with: 1 paid CAP AIDS employees, 1 paid summer student intern,
1 paid coordinator, limited campaign budget, a bad economy, declining attention on HIV+AIDS in Africa
and declining personal fundraising effort by CAP AIDS Directors.
(3)Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2009 raised $41 000 with: 1 paid CAP AIDS employee and 1 paid Resource
Development Assistant, limited campaign budget, a bad economy, declining attention on HIV+AIDS in
Africa and declining personal fundraising effort by CAP AIDS Directors
(4)Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2010 raised $41 000 with: 1 paid CAP AIDS employee, 1 paid summer student intern,
1 paid coordinator, limited campaign budget, a bad economy, declining attention on HIV+AIDS in Africa
and declining personal fundraising effort by CAP AIDS Directors.
(a) With the locations, Artez Event Page and communications tools demanding my attention and support
around the clock, I had very little time to focus on Toronto. I decided to change strategy for Toronto -
focus more on the fundraising target and less on a big crowd, which required a lot of work to achieve.
The strategy worked. B2CA2010 Toronto attracted just 20 participants but raised $17 000 of the
budgeted $19 000. By comparison, B2CA2010 Vancouver attracted 75 participants but raised only $8
000 of the budgeted $14 000.

Further, I was also responsible for:
§ 2010-11 Budget
§ Canada Summer Jobs Proposal
§ Hired, trained, supervised and supported Vancouver Bike-a-thon Coordinator
§ Hired, trained, supervised 2010 Summer Student
§ May 2010 DM
§ May 2010 Newsletter
§ Coordination of CIDA VSF Prooject
§ 2nd Quarter Report for CIDA Project
§ Semi-annual Performance Report for CIDA project
§ Budget. Canada Summer Jobs Proposal; Hired, trained, supervised and supported Vancouver Bike-a-
thon Coordinator; Hired, trained, supervised 2010 Summer Student; conduct a DM Campaign;
Newsletter; Coodinate the CIDA VSF Project; 2nd Quarter Report for CIDA Project and Semi-annual
Performance Report for CIDA project.

NO, I REFUSE TO LET ANYONE MAKE ME FEEL BAD ABOUT MY BIKE 2 CAP AIDS FUNDRAISING
PERFORMANCE IN 2008, 2009 AND 2010!

15) HARASSMENT BY SARAH PUGH
Sarah’s Monday, June 28 e-mail to the Executive Director triggered the tension-laden communication of
June 29. The e-mail:
Violated the Executive Director’s job description
Violated the letter and spirit of Director-Employee conduct
Violated the CAP AIDS’ Director’s Code of Conduct
Judged the Executive Director’s performance
Attempted to exercise individual authority over the Executive Director
Instructed the Executive Director directly
Was passive-aggressive

As noted above, the CAP AIDS Board of Directors Code of Conduct Article 2.3 of states that “Board
Directors’ interaction with the Executive Director, staff, or volunteers must recognize the lack of
authority vested in individuals except when explicitly Board authorized.” Article 2.5 states that “Board
Directors’ interaction with the Executive Director, staff, or volunteers must recognize the lack of
authority vested in individuals except when explicitly Board authorized.”

The CAP AIDS Director Job Description clearly states that “Board Directors set broad policies and goals
for CAP AIDS while ensuring and respecting that the Executive Director of CAP AIDS implements and
manages the affairs of CAP AIDS and its programs. Note that individual Board Directors hold no
authority to make decisions independently and as such their authority devolves only from their
participation in Board of Directors decisions.”

The CAP AIDSS Executive Director’s Job Description clearly states that the Executive Director “Reports to
the Board of Directors, with reference to Executive for ongoing management issues”. My understanding
from this is that the Executive Director does not report to individual Directors.

As stated above, Kevin’s response to my e-mail to Sarah was hurtful. It left me: humiliated; demeaned;
disempowered; embarrassed; intimidated; undermined; deliberately misrepresented; bullied;
deliberately misunderstood; stifled; etc.

After Kevin’s e-mail, Sarah’s send me a follow-up e-mail, copied to Kevin and Aarti. The e-mail read:
“Just to echo Kevin's thoughts -- while recognizing that you (like all of us) are very busy, I am
surprised by your unavailabiltiy or unwillingness to chat about the bike-a-thon, and hope you might
reconsider that. I completely agree with Kevin that fostering the kind of environment where there is
constructive feedback and open communication bewteen us all is very important. The feedback and
ideas Aarti and I have talked about and wanted to share with you, and wanted to hear your thoughts
on, truly aren't at all meant to put you on the defensive, but at the same time, there are important
things that need to be addressed, and we were just hoping to do so in good faith and in the spirit of
learning and improving for next year -- and all of us certainly have a role to play in that improvement.
To my mind, the sooner after the event, the better, as things are still fresh and clear in memory. If this
week was overwhelming for you, perhaps you could have suggested another time? Anyway, please let
me know if you change your mind and do wish to chat.”

Sarah’s follow-up e-mail:
Disregarded the Executive Director’s articulated workload and suggested course of action, and exerted
undue pressure on him. It:
Echoed or repeated Kevin’s hurtful earlier communication
Was passive aggressive
Unfairly portrayed me as uncooperative and unwilling to comply with Board directives
Disregarded my expressed workload and suggested way forward
Lacked consideration for my personal welfare
Disrespect my position as Executive Director
Put me under renewed and undue PRESSURE

The e-mail came after I had explained to Sarah my pressing priorities for the week, including: Planning
for Public Engagement potion of the CIDA project; preparation of CIDA Advance Payment Request for
July-September; preparation of summer 2010 grant proposal; continuing training and supervision of
2010 summer student; end-of-month bill payments; my input into the ED review process; tax receipting
for Bike 2 CAP AIDS 2010; financial reviews and updates with Zemede and preparation for 2009-10 Audit
process.

The preceding weekend was first weekend I had not worked. The week of June 27 to July 3 would be the
first week I’d not be working evenings and early mornings since early April.

Between March and June, I had worked an average of 60-80 hours per week, weekends, evenings and
early mornings on: CAP AIDS 2010-11 Budget; coordinating National B2CA 2010; coordinating Toronto
B2CA2010; creating the successful proposal Summer Student Internship proposal for Service Canada;
hiring, training, supervising and supporting the Vancouver Bike-a-thon Coordinator; hiring, training,
supervising the 2010 Summer Student intern; coordinating the May Direct Mail Campaign; coordinating
the May 2010 Newsletter; compiling the 2nd Quarter Report for the CIDA Project; compiling the Semi-
annual Progress report for the CIDA project and Attending to CAP AIDS’ day to day activities

I suggested a manageable path to a constructive post-event conversation: first, written post-event
reports from event coordinators or coordinating teams; Second, post-event meeting or telephone
conference involving office staff, Directors, regional event coordinators and select volunteers who
participated in events; and Third, final report, deriving from (first) and (second).

I was exhausted, mentally and physically. I really needed to slow down.

I felt that Sarah tried to manipulate me into a pre-conceived state of DEFENSIVENESS.

I am especially concerned that the CAP AIDS Board seems to speak with multiple voices. Some Directors
seem to genuinely understand the harsh work environment. They show that they care about employee’s
welfare and encourage me to create manageable workload. I articulate the manageable workload and
some Directors raise hell. What exactly am I supposed to do?

Further, I am surprised that Sarah made post-B2CA2010 evaluation so urgent. She and I have worked
together on activities that had tight deadlines and allowed each other some flexibility. It seems to me
that, in this situation, Sarah was determined to exert undue pressure on me. Why?

16) TENDENCY TOWARDS A CRIPPLING ENVIRONMENT OF ALLIANCE AND LOBBYING
I am concerned that CAP AIDS is drifting toward an environment of alliance and lobbying, which is
maladaptive to the successful accomplishment of CAP AIDS’ mission. In part, this is due to CAP AIDS’
nature as an organization dominated by smooth, feel-good, personal relationships. But it is also in part
due to the emergence of strong individual interests and agendas.

My observation is that older and experienced Directors dominate Board meeting/discussions and
decision making processes. Young and inexperienced Directors’ seem overwhelmed sometimes. Some
of them now seem to actively seek to please or seek reward from dominant Directors, especially the
President. The Executive Director reveiew process and communication of June 28/29 are two clear
examples. For the latter, it seems to me that Aarti and Sarah judged my B2CA2010 Toronto bike-a-thon
event and immediately communicated with the President (and not the entire Board).

CAP AIDS needs a frank discussion of the problem, a plan of action, and ideally interventions by the
founder, the board and or by others involved in the organization. The objective of the plan should be to
allow the organization to make a successful transition to a mature organizational model without damage
to either the organization itself or to the individuals concerned.

17) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HIRING PROCESS: A VEILED TERMINATION PROCESS?
I strongly feel that the current Executive Director hiring process has been manipulated and is now being
used as a veiled process to diminish my prospects of becoming CAP AIDS’. My suspicions are based on
the following:
a) Some Directors have already expressed their opposition to my candidacy:
i) I have already been told that I have “reached the point where you need a significant break from CAP
AIDS.“
ii) It has already been suggested that “The ED role seems to have stretched you to a breaking point.”
iii) Not long ago, one Director concluded that Obert’s “…quality of effort and level of training and
experience in small business management are not quite what one would expect of the director of a
(Canadian) NGO.”
iv) In violation of CAP AIDS privacy policies Manzur discussed the process, and revealed his opposition to
my candidacy, during a conversation with an outsider
b) The prevailing environment is characterized by emotional isolation, exclusion and discrimination
c) In May, the President informed me that the hiring process had been pushed to September to allow
me time to concentrate on B2CA2010, CIDA reporting, etc. After the tensions of June 28/29, I was
informed that a decision had now been made to start the hiring process right away.
d) I officially expressed interest in the position but, more than 2 weeks after the process started, I have
not been updated on the progress.
e) I have held the position for the last 2 years and 2 months and have a better understanding of the
position’s key responsibilities, but I was excluded from the design of the job description
f) The CAP AIDS Board has shown significant reluctance to acknowledge the depth and breadth of my
activities, strengths, competencies, contributions and achievements in the last two years.
g) Directors who participated in the biased Executive Director performance review process are part of
the ED recruitment process
h) Directors who have harassed or unfairly judged me are involved in the ED hiring process
i) Director who are perceived to be neutral or friendly to me seem to have been conveniently
excluded from both the Executive Director performance review process, and the ongoing Executive
Director hiring process
j) The decision to hire a permanent Executive Director has been postponed several times since the last
November when CAP AIDS received funding from CIDA. I believe postponements sought to diminish my
confidence in my prospects and communicate that CAP AIDS had no intention to continue our
association
k) The CAP AIDS Board seems reluctant to fully acknowledge the CAP AIDS workload
l) Little attention has been paid to Board-management tensions

18) ACCOUNTABILITY FOR FUNDS TRANSFERED TO UGANDA IN JULY 2009
In July 2009, CAP AIDS sent $20 000 to CAP AIDS Uganda, part of proceeds from B2CA2009. Earlier this
year, it came to my attention that CAP AIDS Uganda had not purchased a single bike from the funds. I
wanted to get a full explanation from CAP AIDS Uganda, but I was strong-armed against it. It’s important
to me that, whatever decisions you are making about CAP AIDS’ future, we talk about this important
development!

19) UNFULFILLED OBLIGATIONS UNDER CIDA PROJECT
CIDA approved funding for the following 3 employees an Executive Director (1 day per week), Project
Office (2 days per week) and Public Engagement Coordinator (1 day per week) to work on the CIDA VSF
Project S-064673. While CAP AIDS collects full payment from CIDA, no additional employee has been
hired. I have been performing the duties of the three during the past nine months. WHY!

CONCLUSION
It’s unfortunate that the reviewers who evaluated my performance chose to pick a veiled discriminatory
card by suggesting: “…his quality of effort and level of training and experience in small business
management are not quite what one would expect of the director of a (Canadian) NGO.”

I took over as Executive Director in May 2008 from a Canadian citizen with a strong business
background, who was hired by the CAP AIDS Board. But what I inherited was a sinking ship.
My “quality of effort and level of training and experience in small business management” which “are not
quite what one would expect of the director of a (Canadian) NGO” carried CAP AIDS in the last two
years.

I did what millions of immigrants have done to build this great country. I used my non-Canadian training
and experiences to contribute, through CAP AIDS, to Canada’s global citizenship. Through my
commitment to CAP AIDS, I joined with Canadians and Africans in their partnership against the global
AIDS pandemic.

From May 2008, I endured a work environment that is highly exploitative, abusive, highly stressful and
characterized by: an overwhelming workload; high and disproportionate expectations; a precarious
resource base; a staffing crisis; strong micro-managing tendencies; a blurred line of accountability;
frequent off-the-cuff judgements of performance; increased Board interference in management
processes and decisions. Lately, the environment has degenerated as a result of: harassment; violence;
intimidation; victimization; emotional isolation and discrimination.

My job description stipulates that I work only 35 hours per week but, between May 2008 and July 2010,
I worked as follows: an average 60 – 80 hours per week; minimum of 6 000 unpaid hours (Minimum
1900 in 2008; minimum 3000 in 2009 and minimum 1 700 in 2010); at least 45 weekends; worked
overnight at least 30 times; worked more than 150 evenings; made more than 50 trips to the bank;
commuted at least 30 times to CAP AIDS Signatories offices to get checks and wire transfers signed;
created or responded more than 6 000 e-mails; worked most Canadian statutory holidays; etc.

I generously availed to CAP AIDS my set of senior-level skills and competencies, including:
Proposal/Grant writing (e.g. CIDA Proposal, Service Canada Proposal)
Project management
Volunteer management
Strategic thinking and management
Crisis management
Office management
Knowledge/experience management
Office Management
Public administration
Decision-making
Problem-solving
Planning
Workshop Facilitation
Project reporting
Public Engagement
Advocacy
Public Speaking
Journalism
creative non-fiction writing
Leadership/directing
people skills
creativity
research skills
Communication skills
Oratory skills

Some results achieved between May 2008 and July 2010:
I conceptualized and created the CIDA VSF S-064673: Building Sustainable Livelihoods for AIDS Orphans
and Caregivers In Uganda and Ethiopia project, helping CAP AIDS to secure its single biggest check to
date – $489 500. As one reviewer noted: “Securing CIDAs support was key to the organization’s future.
Now CAP AIDs now has an opportunity to achieve stability and growth, and to move forward. “
Fundraising Events/Campaigns & proposals raised more than $140 000
I secured a new, affordable, accessible office for CAP AIDS
I overhauled the CAP AIDS website – it’s now state-of-the-art and more accurately reflect CAP AIDS
achievements and activities
I introduced new fundraising-oriented social media and communications tools (Facebook Page, Twitter
Account, YouTube account and Flickr)
I coordinate 9 CAP AIDS fundraising events
I compiled and submitted 3 end-of-Project reports and 3 project progress reports
I conducted more than 19 public engagement events
Recruit, trained, supervised and supported more than 25 active volunteers
I interviewed, hired, trained supervised and evaluated 6 employees/summer student
interns/contractors between May 2008 and July 2010
I created more than 160 original and essential documents/reports for CAP AIDS
I updated more than 100 CAP AIDS documents/tools
I introduced a new scale-up approach to CAP AIDS events/campaign, starting with the 2009 World AIDS
Day event
I developed a draft CAP AIDS 3-year strategy for CAP AIDS

Additionally:
Between May 2008 and December 2009, I sacrificed my private home to accommodate the CAP AIDS
furniture that could not be accommodated at the temporary office we occupied from June 2008 to
December 2009
At the beginning of 2009, I postponed my studies at the University of Toronto to give CAP AIDS the extra
help needed

CAP AIDS used me! Between May 2008 and July 2010:
I was your source of cheap labour, contributing more than 6 000 unpaid hours to CAP AIDS
You exploited me as the Canadian face of HIV+AIDS in Africa. In pursuit of CAP AIDS’ public education
and partnership strategy in Canada, I shared my difficult personal story loss to HIV+AIDS in Africa
Key CAP AIDS funding proposals have highlighted my value to CAP AIDS and to intended projects. The
successful proposal to CIDA clearly boasted that: “Obert Madondo is the Acting Executive Director of
CAP AIDS and has been working with CAP AIDS since 2005. Prior to coming to Canada in 2003 as a
refugee from Zimbabwe, Obert worked for the German International Development Agency, Konrad
Adenauer Foundation (KAF). Obert has considerable experience in project coordination in the Southern
Africa region and has gained experience in project management, project reporting and public
engagement over the last four years with CAP AIDS.”

But now that CAP AIDS is stable, I become the used toilet paper you flush down the toilet! Is that fair!

I have compiled a complete dossier of my contributions to CAP AIDS between May 2008 and July 2010. I
will share if and when necessary. In the meantime, I look forward to a frank discussion with the CAP
AIDS Board on the issues raised in this e-mail.

Cheers,

Obert Madondo
Acting Executive Director
CAP AIDS
812A Bloor Street West, Suite 301
Toronto, ON M6G 1L9
Tel: (416) 532 4851
E-mail: capaids@sympatico.ca
Web: www.capaids.org
Canadian Charity NO: 88898 7500 RR0001

We MUST make a difference!

Obert Madondo's August 17 2010 APPEAL To CAP AIDS Board

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