Las Vegas Weekly

January 13, 2010 · 12:48 PM

Tangled mess involves Cher, Kenyan orphanage founders and agents

By Robin Leach

Cher.

Photo: The Firm PR

Superstar Strip headliner Cher is caught in a messy tangle over her extraordinary generosity quietly funding 360 young children at an African orphanage. Vegas DeLuxe previously reported her involvement and monthly donations for food, clothing and education.

The grand opening of the Togetherness School in Ukanda, Kenya, was held on Monday, but the founders, Robert and Eleanor Wood, who motivated Cher and Clint Eastwood’s financial help, didn’t attend. Now the Scottish couple is saying they were snubbed even though they used their life savings to start the charity five years ago.

The Woods were so moved by the plight of the children that they began the fundraising for the school with $50,000 of their own money. This week, they said they were shut out after Cher became involved and sent her managers to take over.

School administrator M’buti Gitonga told the Scottish Daily Record and Sky News: “It’s a proud day, but we are missing our founders. We owe everything to Robert and Eleanor and to the kindness of the Scottish people and, of course, Cher. The children are devastated that Pappa Roberto and Mamma Eleanor weren’t here for the opening.”

The couple’s gift began in 2005 while on a Kenyan vacation. They discovered 120 undernourished children at the Shikmamana School in Ukunda without medical care, books or pencil and paper. The kids sat on the floor without chairs or desks. The 60-year-old couple secured donations of clothing, school and medical supplies, and they purchased more land for an expansion for more children.

Photo: James Glader

Cher.

When they’d exhausted their own money and other donations, they turned to the Sky News channel for help. Cher watched the channel in a German hotel room, saw the story and immediately pledged the needed funds. She offered to assist with monthly donations from her own charitable foundation overseen by her business representatives at the Endeavor Agency in Beverly Hills. Clint also contributed.

The Daily Record quoted Robert: “The opening is the happiest day of our lives. But we are sad we won’t be there to see the joy on the children’s faces. We were able to build a brand new school with Cher’s generosity on 5 acres of nearby lush land that had a freshwater well and coconut trees. For a while, we had regular contact with Cher, but when she placed her involvement into the hands of Endeavor, who put in their project manager, we were marginalized.”

Endeavor has not released any statements about this matter. The agents on HBO’s Entourage are said to be modeled after Endeavor.

Meantime, Cher will join her Burlesque co-star Christina Aguilera on Sunday as presenters at the Golden Globe Awards airing on NBC from Beverly Hills. Paul McCartney, Harrison Ford, Reese Witherspoon, Mickey Rourke, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mel Gibson, Sophia Loren and Jodie Foster also are expected at the awards.

Our Caesars Palace Colosseum headliner also is in the news because she’s selling her six-bedroom, six-bath, 8,821-square-foot estate-home in the Four Seasons Hualala resort in Hawaii. Cher designed the Balinese-styled home with its five freestanding bungalows, infinity pool and hot tub, but she never moved in or spent one night there. The home is up for auction and expected to fetch $8 million to $12 million.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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