ALberto Reyes/WENN.com

Remember when we all thought Yéle Haiti was a good idea?

Well, as has been its reputation for the last couple of years, Wyclef’s foundation, Yele Haiti, is in the news again. This time, they’re being sued by a consulting firm for not making good on a bill.

According to EURweb, Yéle Haiti is being sued by HVC Global Hospitality Services for allegedly stiffing them on a bill with a balance of $108,972.

HVC claims that in 2011, they contracted to provide six months of job and hospitality training for 120 students in Haiti back in 2011.  In their lawsuit filed in a New York Supreme Court, Yéle agree to pay the total bill of $285,000 over the course of the program.  However, they allegedly didn’t keep up with the payment and since Yéle has been shut down since 2012, HVC is still looking for a way to get paid.

The bleeding has never stopped and it’s been a debacle almost since its inception.  At this point, it would seem only “right” that maybe Wyclef go into his own pockets and pay the foundation’s outstanding bills.  I mean, we know he is rolling in the dough and since this was his “baby,” he should do the right thing.

Did you ever contribute to Yéle Haiti?

Haiti remembered the third anniversary of the devastating earthquake that struck that country in 2010 on Saturday with a memorial service that was attended by former U.S. President and current UN special envoy Bill Clinton and the President and First Lady of Haiti, Michel and Sophia Martelly. (Photo below.) The 7.0 magnitude quake left millions without homes and hundreds of thousands dead. The island nation continues to recover at a snail’s pace, according to Voice of America, “because of a paralyzed government, the nation’s inadequate infrastructure and other factors, such as a drought, Tropical Storm Isaac and Hurricane Sandy last year.  Less than half of the several billion dollars pledged by donors has been raised and distributed.”

AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery

Nevertheless, recovery continues. Wayetu Moore, founder of One Moore Book, is doing her part. Starting January 26, her publishing house will sell The Haiti Series, a collection of six children’s stories that draw from the Haitian culture. Among the talent involved in the writing and illustration of these books are world-renowned author Edwidge Dandicat and artist Edouard Duval-Carrie.

To launch this latest series, One Moore Book is hosting an art event in Manhattan that will feature artwork from Duval-Carrie. The $40 ticket for this event will also provide one book for a child in Haiti through the nonprofit LitWorld, and a portion of the proceeds will go to The Haiti Cultural Exchange, which is dedicated to promoting the Haitian culture. You can purchase tickets to the event here.

One Moore Book’s mission is to promote literacy and present the diverse cultures that are often ignored in children’s literature. The company’s first series was focused on Liberia. (Moore is Liberian.) After the success of that series, One Moore Book’s founder decided to host another art event for the latest launch.

“I always wanted to do something about Haiti,” Moore told us in a phone interview, saying that as the first black republic, she’s always had an interest in a project such as this one. After the Liberia series, she got requests from different groups that are working on raising the literacy rate in Haiti. It currently sits at about 48 percent, according to Moore.

Of course, with so many basic needs going unmet in Haiti — adequate housing and sanitation, for instance — there’s the question of why literacy should be a focus.

“Infrastructural health needs will always be important,” Moore told us. “Education equips this generation to think of solutions for those infrastructural problems. They become the problem solvers.”

Wayetu Moore

Other books in the series include A is for Ayiti  by Ibi Zoboi with illustrations by Joseph Zoboi, which is also available in Kreyol, and Fabiola Konn Konte {Fabiola Can Count} by Katia D. Ulysse with illustrations by Kula Moore.

For 27-year-old Moore, the nonprofit world has been a path forged from the start of her career. She told us that she’s never worked for a for-profit corporation, and has always focused on areas of education.

“I’ve always been interested in entrepreneurship and education, so [One Moore Book] was organic for me,” she said. “After being in an office for a long time, I knew that I wanted to work for myself after graduate school. The goal of this business is to fulfill a specific need; a way for kids to see themselves. People recognize there’s a lack in the mainstream literary canon.”

Moore has made adjustments to her work, a lesson for anyone who’s working in the for-profit or nonprofit area: build good partnerships.

“One big takeaway from Liberia is I assumed it would be easier to get books into the hands of children,” she said. “To get books over to the children, we had to create something so an organization over there would receive them.” Having an experienced organization on the ground is key.

Besides purchasing from The Haiti Series, if you’d like to help with  the ongoing relief effort in Haiti, the Red Cross and CARE are two organizations that are accepting donations.

Source: twitter.com

If you’re on Twitter you might have seen this picture already. Because right now, as I type Wyclef’s name is trending there. Memes are being created on Instagram and my office is erupting with laughter and shade throwing.  And this picture is the reason why. This was not a personal, family photo that someone leaked. This is a picture Wyclef posted himself on his personal Twitter page, along with this caption.

TODAY I AM 43 YEARS OLD! I look And feel 26! U cant keep a good Man down! Keep a smile when they want you to frown!

There are several things wrong with this image but I’m just going to highlight the most egregious ones, in the form of questions because there are no definitive answers as to why we, the public, ever saw this image.

1. Why did Wyclef only lotion (baby or canola oil perhaps) the top half of his body?

2. Why is he wearing these panties?

3. Do these panties feature the Haitian flag?

4. Is this where the money from the Yele foundation went?

5. Who took this picture?

6. Why didn’t they tell him it wasn’t a good look?

7. Does he believe this is the image of a man who wants to run a whole country?

8. Do you think Lauryn is somewhere laughing at this?

What are your thoughts on this image? Did Wyclef succeed or flop as the sex symbol he was trying to portray himself to be?

Image: AP Photo/Diane Bondareff

Wyclef Jean isn’t just feeling the backlash because he was “telling his truth” about Lauryn Hill in his memoir Purpose. He’s also in actual legal trouble over his now-defunct charity Yéle.

If you recall, this charity was meant to bring much-needed relief and rebuilding to victims of the massive January 2010 earthquake that struck Haiti. People around the world were moved to help in the days, weeks and months following the devastating natural disaster. Moreover, Wyclef’s name as a recording artist and candidate for president of Haiti helped the charity quickly raise about $16 million. Just as quickly, Wyclef was being accused of using the charity’s funds for things other than helping the victims. In fact, The New York Times reports, that the charity and its financial dealings are still under investigation by New York’s attorney general.

“[T]he charity effectively went out of business last month, leaving a trail of debts, unfinished projects and broken promises,” the newspaper reports. Yéle was founded in 2004. ”Even as Yéle is besieged by angry creditors, an examination of the charity indicates that millions in donations for earthquake victims went to its own offices, salaries, consultants’ fees and travel, to Mr. Jean’s brother-in-law for projects never realized, to materials for temporary houses never built and to accountants dealing with its legal troubles,” the story continues.

Wyclef stepped down from his leadership position with the organization in 2010 when he began his presidential run. The New York attorney general had, shortly before, offered Jean a settlement of $600,000 for misuse of the charity’s funds. That offer was turned down. That offer is also equal to the value of the offices that Yéle occupied in Haiti. Today, the property is abandoned, all signs of the tents and other aid that had been handed out has disappeared and all volunteer groups that were organized have disbanded. Yéle is even being accused of accepting aid and not paying what it agreed to.

An audit found that the financial mishandling began long before the earthquake. Expenses included private jets for Wyclef and his family and friends (Lindsay Lohan?!), chauffeurs, landscaping, “office-related expenses,” and even payment to Wyclef at “his market rate” of $100,000.

Hundreds of thousands died after the quake and more than one million people were left homeless. To this day, 369,000 remain displaced, living in tents and other makeshift accommodations. Using money meant to benefit homeless and hungry people for personal gain when you’re already a well-paid celebrity is despicable and ugly. A charity spokesperson said Wyclef is “committed to ensuring that things are made right.”

From EurWeb

Last week we published part one of our story gleaned from our interview with world-renowned performer and activist Wyclef Jean.

In that piece our focus was on getting the entire Lauryn Hill story out in the open as the section that deals with the Fugees break up is the most talked about chapter of his new book “Purpose: An Immigrant’s Story” thus far.

In this installment I talk to Wyclef about his would be presidential campaign in Haiti, how that dream fell apart and what’s next up on his plate.

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Source: flckeflu.com

The Haitian-born and raised model (but Boston, Mass. transplant) that is Wilnor Tereau is not only hot, but he’s got a big heart too. It probably comes from living and learning through a tough life. Tereau lived in poverty in Haiti with his grandmother in a place that was being struck by a cholera epidemic, and when he moved to the US to be with his father, he was bullied for being the only black kid around. Learning from these obstacles, he didn’t let them keep him from being a standout soccer star and today he provides students in Haiti with school supplies, clothing and more through philanthropic efforts, knowing the difference it can make. On top of all that, and the hopes of becoming a physical therapist soon enough, the 6’0″ model is also trying to make his stake on the fashion world one sultry pose at a time, and the more we get his name out there, the more hot-ness we get to see! Love a good man with a good back story and a good backside too!

(The Daily Beast) — Haiti’s new president is making his debut on the world stage in New York this week, and after 19 months of post-earthquake chaos, his youthful energy and charm are wowing the business and political elite gathered for the annual United Nations General Assembly.  “Haiti is open for business!” declared Michel Martelly, jumping to his feet onstage at a Clinton Global Initiative–sponsored event to attract investors to the ravaged country. The former hip-hop singer known as “Sweet Micky” and infamous for disrobing onstage gushed in a smooth French accent about Haiti’s “most beautiful coasts … and rich past.” Strikingly handsome, with a shaved head and huge dimples, the 50-year-old disarmed the crowd by even mentioning the allure of “voodoo.” It made one want to rush out and open a boutique in Port-au-Prince.  The feel-good event, hosted by former president Clinton during his annual summit, was an invigorating contrast to the troubling images of poverty and destruction coming from the island since the January 2010 earthquake. But the next night, a different Martelly showed up at a fancy event in Greenwich Village hosted by Donna Karan—a cautious, imperious politician surrounded by a gaggle of protective aides and security.

Read More…

(AP) — Haiti’s new president is reaching out to the 2 million Haitians emigrants whose earnings abroad have long helped keep the struggling country afloat even while they have been shut out of local politics.  Recently inaugurated Michel Martelly, who lived abroad himself, has vowed to overturn Haiti’s long-standing ban on dual citizenship and to build a better relationship with an overseas community that contributes 25 percent of Haiti’s gross domestic product with remittances sent to relatives back home.  The Haitian diaspora, mostly in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, has been shut out of the political scene. Residency requirements ban those abroad from owning land or running for office, a clause that kept Grammy Award-winning singer Wyclef Jean from fulfilling his dream of running for president of Haiti.  Many Haitians maintain that Martelly can act on his campaign promises because he understands them: He was a widely traveled musician who speaks fluent English and seems as comfortable in the Miami suburbs as he does in the crumbling and chaotic streets of Port-au-Prince.

Read More…

by Ezinne Adibe

On January 13, 2010 Pat Robertson, founder and chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network,  stated that Haiti “swore a pact to the devil.”  This was one day after a 7.0 earthquake rocked the island nation resulting in massive loss of life. The “pact” Robertson so confidently mentioned to various media outlets was a reference to the Haitian Revolution, more specifically, the Bwa Kayiman (Bois Caiman) Ceremony in August of 1791.

The event is significant because Africans of varying ethnicities joined together in a traditional ceremony to affirm that they would no longer remain enslaved.  The insurrection in Saint-Domingue (modern Haiti), in what would become known as the Haitian Revolution, resulted in the establishment of a Haitian republic in 1804.  The “devil” Robertson spoke of was a reference to the African gods invoked by Haitians to overthrow their French oppressors.

This practice of referring to anything in the realm of African spirituality as evil or devilish is a continuation of the propaganda used by missionaries, slave traders, and colonizers ever since they ventured onto the continent.  Enslaved Africans were treated as a people without culture.  They were reduced to being treated as cargo.  Africans were viewed as heathens because they had their own religious traditions prior to the introduction of Christianity and Islam.  These traditions include ancestor veneration, systems of initiation and respect for the natural environment.

African Traditions in the Americas

African spiritual systems, which fall under the category of African Traditional Religion (ATR), are the traditions that have sustained us since time immemorial.  Enslaved Africans brought these traditions to such places as Haiti, Brazil, Cuba, New Orleans, Florida, and South Carolina. They can be seen in the burial custom of placing items on the graves of deceased family members, knowledge of certain ritualistic and medicinal practices, known under various names as juju, hoodoo, rootwork, etc.  They can be seen in the tradition of adorning trees with bottles, vessels, and other objects to protect the household through invocation of the dead as noted in places like Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia.