Journal #2: Yéle Scams the People of Haiti

Haiti Earthquake by United Nations Development Program

Journal #2: Yéle Scams the People of Haiti 


“Wyclef Jean Shuts down His Haiti Charity after Allegations of Impropriety” by Eric Thurm (http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-new-york-attorney-general-found-all-sorts-of-s,86621/) grabbed my attention because of its ironic nature. The thought of a celebrity putting his or her own name out there in a good intentioned venture, such as Wyclef Jeans’ charity, Yéle, only to turn around and steal the profits and donations is inexcusable. Yéle is Wyclef Jean’s organization put together to help restore the lives and communities of those in need after Haiti’s massive 2010 earthquake. This article informed me of the controversy surrounding Yéle concerning how Jean may have been financially abusing the funds of this organization. Although the financial accusations are still under investigation, I don’t find them hard to believe considering the numerous outrageous expenses that have been brought to the surface of this topic, such as the private jet transportation taking Lindsey Lohan to an event that earned only nearly enough profit to cover the costs it took to get her there.


I found it particularly interesting that Wyclef recently shut down the charity as potential issues were brought to the surface; it seems to me that he is hiding from the truth of what has been occurring under his own authority. From my previous understanding, charities such as Yéle are created in order to help those in need rather than strengthen the popularity and wealth of the famous. Wyclef Jean seems to be looking out for his own good rather than the interest of the people he claims to be helping in Haiti. The appearance of information like this unfortunately makes me question the integrity of other celebrity endorsed charity organizations, although I’m sure many are nothing similar to Yéle.


The article didn’t contain a ton of background information on Wyclef Jean or Yéle it was easy for me to find myself agreeing with the author’s point of view. In doing more research of my own on the topic, I can’t help but agree with the author more on Wyclef Jeans abuse of the charities financial funds. There are numerous instances and examples of this abuse not to mention the example in the article of Wyclef’s interest in becoming Haiti’s president, showing he is power hungry, unfortunately similar to stories we hear about many famous leaders. Although statements from Wyclef himself were not included in the article, it is easy to see the direction this dilemma is heading in once the truth is unveiled.