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Wyclef Jean and ComCEL Launch Sustainable Development Initiatives for Yele Haiti in Haiti

Wyclef Jean and ComCEL Launch Sustainable Development Initiatives for Yele Haiti in Haiti

Published 01-20-05

Submitted by Orsa Consultants

NEW YORK, NY - Grammy Award-winning musician and Haitian native Wyclef Jean is announcing the launch of his new humanitarian initiative Yele Haiti (www.yele.org) today in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Yele Haiti is a non-political non-profit movement that combines music with sustainable development to provide the youth of Haiti and the Diaspora with the tools and renewed hope necessary to rebuild their nation and chart a new course for the future. Yele Haiti's approach is based on working with successful non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in four key areas of sustainable development: education, health, environment and entrepreneurship. Yele Haiti is launching today in Haiti with two significant initiatives, both funded by Haiti's largest wireless services provider, Communication Cellulaire d'Haïti (ComCEL), a subsidiary of Western Wireless Corporation (www.wwireless.com).

For the first initiative, Jean is announcing the allocation of educational scholarships and funding for the expansion of L'Athletique d'Haïti's Sports Academy, a highly coveted and successful sports and tutoring program. The second initiative will be to rebuild and support 20 flood-damaged schools in the poverty stricken city of Gonaïves. This project will accommodate up to 5,000 students, many of whom will be given full scholarships from Yele Haiti and ComCEL. All facets of both initiatives will be completely funded by ComCEL.

Barely half of Haiti's population over the age of 15 can read and write in a country where both private and most public schools require tuition payments, and the families of over 1 million children cannot afford to send them to school. The problem with receiving an education in Haiti is multifaceted.

Historically, the Haitian government has not been able to subsidize educational costs, and this has been compounded by the fact that many schools have been severely damaged over the last year due to the floods of 2004 with no funding for repair. Moreover, there is a shortage of qualified teachers.

The first initiative with L'Athletique d'Haïti is multi-layered and targets children in the Cite Soleil and Bel Air areas of Port-au-Prince, the two poorest and neediest neighborhoods in Haiti. It currently provides an after-school soccer and tutoring program for 650 youths that includes one hot meal a day, uniforms, sports equipment and tutoring. Children are required to be in school to participate. Yele Haiti and ComCEL will fund an expansion of the program and the educational scholarships necessary for an additional 134 children to participate, with the help of NGO Le Fonds de Parrainage National (LPN). More than 1,000 youth will join Jean and ComCEL at the Sports Academy today for soccer games and day-long activities to "kick off" the program with the introduction of the first 25 youth to receive 'Wyclef scholarships.'

For the Gonaïves school initiative, Yele Haiti with funding from ComCEL will rebuild 20 damaged schools and provide the necessary support materials and support programs to affect up to 5,000 pupils and 100 teachers. The program will provide books and school supplies for the students, mobilize parents to participate on an ongoing basis, upgrade the teaching skills of the teachers and implement mechanisms to foster a positive learning environment. Three NGOs will be executing all facets of the project: Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), Le Fonds de Parrainage National (LPN) and Centre d'
Apprentissage et de Formation Pour la Transformation (CAFT).

"These programs are hitting so many severely needed areas," said Wyclef Jean. "It's providing Haitian youth with an education, food and sports and with a hope for tomorrow that these kids didn't't have yesterday. Every child matters, and who knows which ones will be inspired someday to help solve problems for Haiti because he or she can now read and write. It's about instilling hope and promise and working together."

"ComCEL is proud to play a positive role in addressing the needs of Haitian youth," said Pete Simpson, President of ComCEL. "We see working with Yele Haiti as a platform for good corporate citizenship and to give the youth of Haiti the help they need right now."

Yele Haiti was launched in New York City on December 9, 2004 with a star-studded event hosted by Susan Sarandon that included performances by Roberta Flack and Cassandra Wilson. Jean also recently addressed the members of the Haiti Donor Group at a meeting hosted by the World Bank on December 15, 2004 to expedite the donation process from countries that expressed interest in alleviating the suffering in Haiti. Jean delivered a poignant and motivating assessment of the current situation in Haiti and articulated the requirements for successful future development, emphasizing the importance of a national dialogue to bring together parties and reject violence.

The Yele Haiti programs are managed by Orsa Consultants (www.orsaconsultants.com), a corporate social responsibility consultancy. Orsa provides Yele Haiti with the rollout plan including program development, branding, and corporate partnerships, bringing proprietary project management tools including complete transparency methodologies so that projects can be monitored by partners.

About Yele Haiti
Yele Haiti (www.yele.org) is a non-political sustainable development movement launched by hip-hop Grammy winner and Haitian native Wyclef Jean. With a focus on education, health, entrepreneurship and environment, Yele Haiti unites music and sustainable development to give the youth and Diaspora of Haiti the tools and resources necessary to rebuild and chart a new course for the future. Yele Haiti is a United States-based nonprofit charitable organization with tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status. Launched in December of 2004, Yele Haiti is headquartered in New York City with offices in Port-au-Prince and Miami.

About ComCEL
ComCEL (www.ww-int.com), headquartered in Port-au-Prince, is a wireless communications development corporation in Haiti. Formed in 1997, ComCEL launched wireless service in Haiti in September 1999. ComCEL now serves over a quarter million customers from all economic segments in over 20 communities in Haiti. Its majority partner, Western Wireless International, based in Bellevue, Washington, has developed wireless telecommunications businesses in ten countries around the world.

About Orsa Consultants
Orsa Consultants (www.orsaconsultants.com) is a strategy and communications consultancy helping corporations and partners create sustainable growth and business opportunities through a platform of shared values. Orsa helps companies conceive, develop and execute programs in conjunction with NGOs and local partners.

Contacts:

Contact for Yele Haiti and Orsa Consultants:
Hugh Locke
Cell in US: 917-859-2035
hugh@orsaconsultants.com

Contact for ComCEL:
Bernard Fils-Aime
Tel in Haiti: 509-401-5529
Bfils-aime@comcelhaiti.com

Contact for L'Athletique d'Haïti:
Robert Duval
Cell in Haiti: 509-558-7133
duvalrobert2003@yahoo.fr

Contact for Le Fonds de Parrainage National:
Antoine Levelt, Executive Director
Tel in Haiti: (509) 513-0675
Cell in Haiti: (509) 401-1337
antoinelevelt@yahoo.com

Contact for the Pan American Development Foundation
John Currelly
Tel in Haiti: (509) 246-9467
Cell in Haiti: (509) 401-0137
jcurrelly@padfhaiti.org

Contact for Centre d'Apprentissage et de Formation Pour la Transformation (CAFT)
Linda Gershuny
Tel in Haiti: (509) 257-3339
Cell in Haiti: (509) 556-9940
isgershuny@hotmail.com

Orsa Consultants

Orsa Consultants

Orsa Consults designs and manages development programs, special events and communication services for those engaged in improving the state of the world. Clients include corporations, governments and civil society organizations from developed and developing nations, along with the United Nations. Orsa represents a new business approach to social responsibility by employing the tools, discipline and results-driven focus of a business model to the process of making the world a better place.

  • designing and managing communication services and strategies that include media relations, advertising and brand development.
  • designing and managing world-class special events that garner attention for initiatives that are making a difference;
  • designing and managing multi-stakeholder development programs that deliver education, environment, health and humanitarian assistance;
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