News

December 15, 2004

Wyclef Jean Galvanizes World Bank’s Haiti Donor Group Meeting

Jean Presented His Vision for Haiti and Introduced His New Humanitarian Initiative, Yéle Haiti

Washington, DC – Dec. 15, 2004 – Grammy award winning artist and Haitian native Wyclef Jean addressed the members at the Haiti Donor Group meeting today at an event hosted by the World Bank. The purpose of the meeting was to expedite the donation process from countries that have already expressed an interest in contributing to the alleviation of suffering in Haiti. Wyclef’s key participation comes on the heels of his recent announcement of the launch of Yéle Haiti (www.yele.org), a movement to raise funds for sustainable development in Haiti. Jean delivered a poignant and motivating assessment of the current situation in Haiti and articulated the requirements for successful future development. He then electrified the audience and World Bank employees with his trademark charisma and exuberance with a performance.

Jean described his recent fact-finding trips and talked about the importance of a national dialogue that is being organized by the United Nations in January. The dialogue is in pursuit of national reconciliation and will bring together all parties in Haiti that reject violence. Jean also outlined the specific projects involving education, entrepreneurship, health and the environment that Yéle Haiti is launching in January.

After the meeting, Wyclef was welcomed to the stage by the President of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn. “Wyclef is here because he represents the very best of Haiti. Wyclef has given himself, his time, his energy and now a foundation to try to bring about that sense of hope in his country back to a level where everybody has an opportunity, where they can identify with the future, not the past, where they can take pride in someone who has succeeded enormously in their chosen field,” said Wolfensohn.

Jean has taken the lead in this new, non-political, international humanitarian effort to help rebuild Haiti. Jean has been touted as the music industry’s multicultural conscience, participating in numerous high-profile benefit shows and charity events. He has now launched a movement that combines music and sustainable development to provide the youth of Haiti with the practical tools, resources and renewed hope necessary to rebuild their nation.

Immediate Yéle Haiti programs include rebuilding of schools in slum areas, funding community development projects, providing micro-loans to poor and low-income entrepreneurs, supporting education on HIV/AIDS and assisting with job-creating environmental projects. Jean will also be holding a free concert in Haiti in the spring of 2005 for up to 1.5 million people.

Jean launched Yéle Haiti on December 9th, 2004, performing with Roberta Flack and Cassandra Wilson among others. Susan Sarandon, who was joined by her partner Tim Robbins, hosted the event contributing her passion for this project to mobilize activism. Director Jonathan Demme donated items from his Haitian art collection to benefit the cause. Angela Bassett was in attendance while Wyclef presented a special award to fellow Haitian and high-profile artist manager Mona Scott.

Haiti, once one of the richest nations in the western hemisphere, is currently the poorest. Barely half of Haiti's people over age 15 can read and write. The unemployment rate is 80%. Almost 99% of its natural tree cover is gone. The average life expectancy of a Haitian is 52. However, with the right resources and assistance they can turn things around, as evidenced by the fact that Haiti is one of the only developing nations to have actually reduced its HIV infection rate – from 6% in 2001 to 3% in 2004.

The Yéle programs will be managed in part by Orsa Consultants (www.orsaconsultants.com), a corporate social responsibility consultancy. Orsa has provided Yéle Haiti with plan for rollout including program development, branding, and corporate partnerships. The consultancy also brings proprietary project management tools including intranet where all projects can be monitored by project partners. “Yéle Haiti embodies the next generation of nation-building where local populations, governments, corporations and NGOs work together to create sustainable development,” commented Hugh Locke, Orsa Consultants Partner and Co-Founder.