Wyclef Jean Announces Initiative To Help Haiti, Plans To Raise $48 Mil
written by Brandi Hopper
Wednesday - May 21, 2008

A month after food riots and an outbreak of violence rocked Haiti and resulted in at least six deaths, island-born performer Wyclef Jean is reaching out to help his homeland.

According to Reuters, Jean launched a new initiative "Together for Haiti" yesterday, with a goal to raise $48 million over the next six months that will create jobs and assistance for farmers and help feed the impoverished country.

"We have come together to launch this new initiative because I believe we can do more and better for Haiti when we act together," Jean said at a Manhattan news conference. "We are not only interested in feeding people in response to the current crisis, but we want to offer them an alternative that can help them in a sustainable way."

The project is backed by the World Food Program, the Pan American Development Foundation and Yele Haiti, Jean's charitable foundation for Haiti.

The program aims to provide jobs for 1,800 people everyday, distribute food to 1.5 million people and provide fertilizers to 55,000 farmers. It also aims to offer 9,000 grants to families so start their own small businesses.

"We want to give them the opportunity to set up a small business which they can live on instead of assisting them every time there is a crisis," Jean told Reuters.

As SOHH previously reported, Wyclef was appointed by Haitian President Rene Preval to serve as a roving ambassador to improve the nation's image abroad. He recorded a radio spot last month pleading with Haitians to stop the violence. One of the poorest countries in the Americas, Haiti has battled a rash of kidnap-for-ransom crimes.