Yéle Haiti

A message from Yéle Haiti President, Hugh Locke

yele — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:53:43 +0000

Dear Yéle family,

On August 17, 2010, an article about Wyclef Jean and Yéle Haiti, the charitable organization he co-founded in 2005, appeared in The New York Times (“Star’s Candidacy in Haiti Puts Scrutiny on Charity”). The article contained allegations that were both inaccurate and misleading; I will cite just three examples here.

The article alleges that residents of some of the estimated 70,000 people living in the 34 tent camps to which Yéle distributes water, food, clothing and other supplies reported never having received anything from the organization. I don’t doubt that there are individuals for whom this is the case, but random interviews amidst the chaos and suffering in these camps is not grounds for dismissing months of well-documented delivery of relief supplies. A case in point: Since the earthquake, Yéle has delivered more than 2.3 million gallons of water to these camps using a fleet of 14 tanker trucks, each carrying 1,200 gallons of potable water—an operation that we plan to expand in coming months.

The article presented as fact a disgruntled ex-employee’s untruthful account of a contract through which Yéle paid $250,000 over a period of three years to a commercial television station in Haiti owned by Wyclef Jean. An independent audit of Yéle deemed the transaction appropriate because the fully documented services rendered were at market value or less. As to whether the resulting programming featured Wyclef Jean, the answer is yes. That is because every one of the activities he was filmed participating in—including free outdoor concerts, sports matches, youth rap competitions supporting street cleaning, food distribution programs and more—was sponsored by Yéle.

Jean was also filmed with celebrities he brought to Haiti to help build global awareness for the country. He took Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to visit boy prisoners who were part of a Yéle-supported rehabilitation program and met children who were in school through a Yéle-supported scholarship program. He performed with Akon for a free Yéle-sponsored concert in Port-au-Prince, and then the two of them visited a Yéle program involving local women preparing meals for schools without kitchens. He accompanied Matt Damon on a tour of flood-ravaged Gonaives, and they jointly issued an appeal on behalf of the United Nations for international financial assistance for the region. Celebrities have been key to Yéle’s fundraising efforts as well as to our work building global awareness for Haiti. Celebrity support for charitable causes and organizations has become standard operating procedure across the globe—Yéle is certainly not alone in this practice.

The third example I’d like to address involves Yéle Corps, our cash-for-work program that began operation Aug. 9, with the first 200 workers cleaning streets in Port-au-Prince. Wyclef Jean announced the program on July 12, the six-month anniversary of the earthquake, and those who had signed up to start Aug. 9 were asked to take part in that announcement and paid the standard day rate of $7. They were not “dismissed because the program had not yet been fully planned,” a fact made clear to the Times reporter who sat in on a Yéle Corps training session for team leaders and inspectors on Aug. 7. The writer is also incorrect in suggesting that those signing up for Yéle Corps were asked for their electoral card. They were asked for their “numero d’immatriculation fiscal” or NIF number, the equivalent of a Social Security number, which is on the Haitian electoral card. A small but very important distinction.

Yéle Haiti has a responsibility to ensure that our activities are independent of Wylef Jean’s campaign now that he has stepped down from the organization to run for president. We were a small organization transformed by the generosity of the public as we stepped forward to respond to the earthquake like so many other groups. We have struggled to expand and improve our management in response to this transformation, and the organization is proud of what we have accomplished and stands committed to continuing to help Haiti rebuild.

Hugh Locke
President, Yéle Haiti

"Haiti is Open for Business"

yele — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:02:13 +0000

Wyclef Jean was joined by Yele team members as well as Haitian friends and Delegates as he opened the markets at NASDAQ today in wake of the 6 month anniversary of the earthquake disaster in Haiti.

Wyclef called upon the business leaders of the world to help by investing in Haiti, a country that is full of people ready and willing to work. At the ringing of the bell, Wyclef pronounced that "Haiti is open for business."

Yéle Launches Major Job Creation Program

yele — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:37:35 +0000

PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 12, 2010 – Wyclef announced the creation of Yéle Corps, a new program that will provide jobs to nearly 1,000 people a day cleaning the streets and removing garbage. The program also includes a vocational training component. Nearly 1,000 people attended a Yéle Corps rally at the Place St. Pierre tent camp where Wyclef addressed the first 200 workers to be signed up for the program when it begins operation in the next month. Yéle has received major financial support for this new initiative from the “Hope for Haiti Now Fund,” with secondary support from the BET telethon “SOS Saving OurSelves.”

Yéle Partnering With Project Medishare

yele — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:20:59 +0000

PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 12, 2010 – Wyclef presented a check to Project Medishare for the purchase of the first high-resolution CT scanner in Haiti, which will be available to patients regardless of their financial resources. The device will have its own trailer and generator power source and will be installed at Bernard Mevs Project Medishare Hospital in Port-au-Prince, a nonprofit institution working closely with the Haitian Ministry of Health. This technology will allow rapid diagnosis and effective treatment to prevent unnecessary deaths from major heart attacks, strokes, major trauma and maternal emergencies. “It’s important that Project Medishare and Yéle Haiti are partnering at this time to provide the Haitian people with life-saving technology that will be operational within a few weeks,” Dr. Barth Green, president and co-founder of Project Medishare said. “On the six-month anniversary, Project Medishare and Yéle Haiti are working together in a promise to continue improving access to healthcare for all Haitians.”

CNN American Morning interviews Wyclef Jean about progress in Haiti.

yele — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:16:37 +0000

null

CNN American Morning interviews Wyclef Jean about progress in Haiti.

It has been six months since the devastating earthquake hit Haiti. Wyclef Jean explains to CNN what progress is being made and the many obstacles that the Haitian people still face.

MSNBC interviews Sam Jean regarding the situation in Haiti six months after the earthquake disaster.

yele — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:15:21 +0000

null

MSNBC interviews Sam Jean regarding the situation in Haiti six months after the earthquake disaster.

Wyclef Jean's brother, Sam Jean, a spokesperson for Yele Haiti highlights the current immediate needs of the Haitian people on the six month anniversary of the January 12th earthquake disaster.

Florent MALOUDA directement après le fiasco du mondial

yele — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:11:18 +0000

Yele Corps is cleaning up the streets

yele — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:51:08 +0000

Wyclef Jean and members from Yele Corps gather in “Place Fierte Soleil", a tent camp in the Cité Soleil slum in Port-au-Prince. Photo Credit: Yéle Haiti/Sebastian Petion

Yele Corps is a job creation program that we at Yele Haiti founded in order to help provide the people with jobs and income. This program not only employs the local Haitian community, but provides them with the vocational training they need to help them better their lives for the future!

Yele Haiti, Claudinette Jean, and Florent Malouda distribute aid and smiles at the Jean et Marie Orphanage in Santos

yele — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:35:24 +0000

Yele Haiti, Claudinette Jean, and Florent Malouda bring aid and smiles to the Haitian Children at the Jean et Marie Orphanage in Santos. Also a look at the Yele Haiti Food and Aid Distribution Center in Port-au-Prince, and the state of haiti nearly half year after the earthquake.

Yele Haiti, Timberland and Trees for the Future partner to plant trees in Haiti.

yele — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:13:47 +0000