The CEO of a D.C.-based international humanitarian and construction company is speaking out about alleged neglect she has faced after helping Ukrainians who have been left devastated by the war against Russia.
“Those folks need help,” Carolyn Davis, the CEO of CDAG International told Amsterdam News.
She said since the war began, her company has provided families in Ukraine with furniture, beds, generators, electrical systems, living containers and facilities, among other resources. But U.S. organizations have not been keen to meet with her to discuss how she can partner with them.
“The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and others have neglected CDAG’s work, even though U.S. military aid and spending has reached over $50 billion, and firms are pitching services to gain contracts to help reconstruct that Eastern European nation,” according to the report.
Davis said that repeated requests from USAID to help her company compete for contracts related to relief in Ukraine have been declined. Other U.S. legislators, she said, have completely ignored her requests.
“They do not recognize me. I’m just some Black woman who wants to lend a hand, she said. “And that’s exactly what they perceive. I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t want to support a Black-owned business, but they clearly don’t.”
USAID is an independent federal agency responsible for providing civilian foreign aid and assistance. So she finds it odd that they are not willing to support CDAG in helping Ukrainians get the support they need.
A letter dated in December from the Ukraine Ministry of Defense has also made mention of the impact CDAG has done in helping its country get back on its feet.
“CDAG International has worked with our military and has proven that they can assist the Ukrainian government to acquire critical services and facilitate many of our requirements,” the letter reads. “CDAG has proven beneficial to our troops and had contributed to saving lives.”
The letter continues: “Due to the intense fighting in several areas, it’s very difficult to get these materials to our troops on the front line and other locations, and there are very few companies that can accomplish this task.”
Ukrainian officials gave CDAG 60 acres of land because of their support in the region, but without funding assistance from the American government, it may be challenging for the company to meet the needs of the country.
“It’s incredible that we haven’t been able to acquire a quarter from USAID despite what we’ve shown that we can accomplish,” she concluded.
CDAG is working to meet with White House officials.
