Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Haitian recording artiste Wyclef Jean triggered swollen tear ducts on June 8 as he accepted the prestigious 2009 ASCAP-Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award from Jamaican-American recording star, actor and humanitarian, Harry Belafonte, in Manhattan, New York.

"I am one of those kids who didn't know where his meal was coming from. I would eat red dirt from the floor at times," Jean reminisced on the pangs of hunger he lived through, growing up in Haiti.

"At times, we would make sling shots and go after birds that look like pigeons; sometimes we were so hungry going after those little birds and at times we would look in the sky and see a bird flying 20,000 feet above and it would be a plane, not knowing that it was a plane we would try to shoot it down, knowing that big bird would give us food for months."

Childhood dreams

Reminiscing on years of riding a donkey to school or walking for six miles in ragged shoes, Jean said he had dreams that he knew would be fulfilled one day. Those dreams were to leave the poverty in Haiti behind.

Unselfishly, not only did Jean realise his dreams, but through his Yéle Haiti non-profit foundation, he has brought back hope to his native country. "Yéle Haiti allows kids to dream - they have not dreamt often, and most of the time their dreams have been nightmares. That's what got me here - dreaming," said Belafonte while making the presentation.

Belafonte - himself a previous ASCAP Humanitarian Award winner whose contributions to the civil rights, anti-war and anti-apartheid movements are as legendary as his music - saluted the 36-year-old Haitian and fellow Caribbean musician for using his celebrity for philanthropic efforts.

Greatest contribution

"Wyclef's greatest contribution can't easily be measured because Wyclef himself has said the greatest accomplishment is giving hope to young kids," Belafonte noted.

Yéle Haiti helps the poor and underprivileged in Haiti through food distribution, aid for hurricane victims and job creation efforts. Changing the lives of hundreds of thousands of poverty-stricken Haitians through its sustainable development programmes, Yéle Haiti partners with established community-based groups where they exist, and if they don't exist it helps start them. Either way, the focus is to feed the hungry and to fight HIV and AIDS while providing soul-sustaining nourishment through the arts and sports programmes.

Jean, who was heralded throughout the evening for his unselfish, energetic activism in the service of others, said he was honoured to receive the award. He encouraged humanitarian groups to focus on sustainability when helping the poor: "When you are going to feed a child, remember, it's about sustainability - the reality is that you have to give them the (fishing) rod and the boat and they won't come back to you no more."

Also honoured at the event were Growing Power (Milwaukee, WI), a national non-profit organisation, and land trust, WFAN Sports Radio 66, the flagship station for the New York Mets, New York Giants, New Jersey Devils and New Jersey Nets, as well as several 2008 Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Award winners, representing grassroots organisations in the United States that have moved beyond charity to create change in their communities.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com

Bevan Springer contributed to this article.