NewsJune 3, 2006Wyclef Jean and Yéle Haiti Hold the Final "Project Clean Streets Hip Hop Competition"Yéle Haiti Holds Contest Open to Youth in Haiti’s Worst Slums To Create Hip Hop Songs on the Theme of Cleaning Up the Country Port-au-Prince, Haiti – Saturday, June 3 – Wyclef Jean, the founder of Yéle Haiti, announced the broadcast of the Project Clean Streets Hip Hop Competition final competition and broadcast today Project Clean Streets is a program that is managed and implemented by the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) and financed by USAID, employing 1,700 people per day to pick up the garbage in eight municipalities in Port-au-Prince The Hip Hop Competition was open to youth from three of Haiti’s worst slums, Cité Soleil, Bel Air and Marche Salomon, inviting youth to create hip hop songs on the theme of cleaning up the country Wyclef Jean utilized music for Project Clean Streets as a way to educate the public about the problem and the solutions for the proliferation of garbage Combining music with the educational process, songs were created by the youth of the slums to make it a fun and entertaining way to get the message out “Yéle Haiti is not a charity, it is a movement Yéle is a cry for freedom, and Yéle Haiti is about peace and dialogue Whether used by Haitian musicians to communicate with the street, organize a hip hop competition to educate people about cleaning up the garbage in the streets or have musicians tour the country to educate young people on HIV/AIDS, Yéle Haiti uses music to implement a positive force of change,” said founder Wyclef Jean Launched in June 2005 and managed by PADF, Project Clean Streets is an initiative that collects garbage on the streets in eight municipalities in the metropolitan area As there are no street containers or public service garbage pick up, loose garbage piles two feet high, twenty feet long and five feet wide is a common occurrence Initially, the project employed 600 workers per day to clean the streets of six municipalities: Tabarre, Carrefour, Croix des Bouquets, Delmas, Port-au-Prince and Petion-Ville Within a few months, the operation increased to include Haiti’s two worst and most dangerous slums, Cite Soleil and Bel Air It now employs 1,700 people per day in a country that has an 80% unemployment rate John Currelly, representative of the PADF in Haiti remarked, “Port-au-Prince deserves to have clean streets and the PADF recognizes its partners: USAID, Yéle Haiti and CARE, and all of the inhabitants of the capital for their support of the Project Clean Streets workers Our country is not a trash can - keep the streets clean” During the month preceding the broadcast, the 12 finalists songs were played regularly on a local radio station group known for their support of positive social issues Each song was given a number and the public was invited to call in to vote for their favorite After two rounds of elimination, 12 finalists, 4 from each slum, performed in a live televised broadcast hosted by local rapper Jimmy O The public vote was factored in with votes from a panel of judges and three winners were chosen: Mad-S from Bel Air (song title “Pwop Pwop”), Franer from Cite Soleil (song title “Fok Lari a Bel”) and 2 Juges from Mache Salomon (song title “Pwoteje Lari a”) Cash prizes were awarded to all with the top spots receiving the most money The winners will also perform at numerous Yéle Haiti sponsored public events The audience sang along to every song Jimmy O, signed to Wyclef’s label “Sak Pase,” performed his latest single “Yele Ayiti” to a full house standing ovation
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