Wyclef Jean

Wyclef Neluset Jean (born October 17, 1972) is a multiplatinum Haitian-American musician, actor, producer and former-member of the hip hop trio The Fugees. Wyclef has sold more than 31 million albums[1] throughout his career, together with his album sales with The Fugees.

Early life A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan,[2] Wyclef Jean became a sworn Rasta at a young age, as he often mentions in various tracks.[citation needed] The son of a Nazarene pastor,[3] Wyclef briefly attended Eastern Nazarene College, where his younger brother Sam graduated with a degree in history.[4] Wyclef moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York, when he was nine, before moving again to northern New Jersey.He worked briefly as Burger King crew employee as a teenager, before he was fired. Jean has been a resident of Saddle River, New Jersey, and South Orange, New Jersey.[5]Jean who regrets dropping out of college has announced plans to attend Boston's Berklee College of Music. [6] Yéle Haiti In 2005, Jean established the Yéle Haiti Foundation. In its first year of operation, the foundation, with funding by Comcel, provided scholarships to 3,600 children in Gonaïves, Haiti, after the devastation by Hurricane Jeanne[citation needed]. In its second year of operation, it is almost doubling the amount of the scholarships and spreading them throughout Haiti, providing tuition in 5 regions[citation needed]. The foundation aims to provide 6,800 scholarships to children in Port-au-Prince, Gonaïves, Les Cayes, Port-de-Paix, and Cap-Haïtien. Together for Haiti Created in response to the current food shortages and rioting in Haiti, Together for Haiti is a partnership between Yéle Haiti, the United Nations World Food Programme, and the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF). Both a fundraising and awareness campaign, its mission is to provide much needed resources for three crucial programs in Haiti: Targeted Food Distribution - Expand WFP's existing food assistance program for children under five and pregnant women, continue existing school meal programs through summer vacation, and organize voucher-based food distribution of dry food to the neediest families. Immediate Employment Creation - Create Labor-intensive employment opportunities that will support expanding agricultural production, with wages in cash and food. Micro-enterprise Grants - Small grants and training for small-scale egg production, vegetable gardens, grain milling, bread production and other related activities. The partnership was publicly launched on May 20, 2008, at a press event hosted by Wyclef Jean in New York City. Humanitarian efforts Jean has been active in his support of his native country and created the foundation Yéle Haiti [13] to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to Haiti. He describes Yéle as a non-political organization intended to empower the people of Haiti and the Haitian diaspora to rebuild their nation, saying, "The objective of Yéle Haiti is to restore pride and a reason to hope, and for the whole country to regain the deep spirit and strength that is part of our heritage".[citation needed]. Yéle Haiti was created in October 2004 with Wyclef's cousin Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis and humanitarian experts Sanjay Rawal and Natabara Rollosson. Projects were launched in January 2005. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were present for the first anniversary of the launch in 2006. In January 2007, Jean became a roving ambassador for Haiti, to help improve its image abroad.[14] May 20, 2008 – Yéle Haiti partnered with WFP (World Food Programme) the United Nations to launch www.togetherforhaiti.org September, 2008 – Wyclef in conjunction with Yéle Haiti Charity delivered food to Hurricane Ike victims in Haiti. Matt Damon provided assistance in the food lines serving food. Oct 23, 2008 – Wyclef Jean performed on stage with Carlos Santana in San Francisco on behalf of Yéle Haiti, OneXOne, and WaterPartners International to raise funds for clean water, education, health, environment, and community development in the USA and in the developing world. June 2009 – Wyclef sang another verison of "Gun Powder" and "No Woman, No Cry" to Support The Killed People of Iran, The Demonstrations, The Shooting of The 27 Year-old Woman Neda and The Struggles there. The Video Can Be Seen on YouTube