Alan Montanaro resigns from charity organisation

Actor Alan Montanaro has resigned as President and as member of the DO Project Committee, a charity organisation he co-founded in 2013.

On Sunday, MaltaToday reported that Montanaro was warned by the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations after failing to provide a transparent financial system for donations received by his Drama Outreach Project, and over the offensive choice of words he used to refer to the impoverished Cambodian children his organisation was supposed to be helping.

“It's with a heavy heart that I write this Facebook post. Serious allegations of financial impropriety were made against me and the NGO which I co-founded and of which I am President, allegations which both myself and the NGO have categorically denied,” the actor said in an online post.

He added that “in the interests of the children and the work that DO Project continues to do I shall tender my resignation as President and as member of the DO Project Committee with immediate effect.

“This is a very difficult decision which I take with great responsibility. DO Project has been a huge and important part of my life over the past 4 years and has so much more to contribute to the children of Cambodia. I will continue to remain an active supporter of this cause and look forward to volunteering my time and my skills again this summer.”

In his post, Montanaro said the allegations were investigated through an enquiry of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations and the conclusions of the enquiry found the NGO to be fully compliant and the case closed.

Montanaro reiterated that  the private Whatsapp chat which earned him a serious rebuke from the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations was taken out of context and apologised for what he said.

“These comments, intentionally taken out of context, were never intended to cause offence to anyone, least of all the children I have grown immensely fond of, their carers, the sponsor families, or the NGO over which I preside. Most of all they in no way reflected the actions and motivations which have led me to work tirelessly for the children of Cambodia over the past four years. Nonetheless I am fully aware of the offence that my comments may have caused and for this I issued an unreserved public apology.”