Home »

Three NYRed Bull Players to Join Wyclef Jean on Six Day Service Trip to Haiti

Altidore, Laventure Visit Family's Former Homeland for First Time

SECAUCUS, NJ (MLS) - With most players heading home this offseason to recover from a rigorous Major League Soccer season full of ups and downs, a handful of the New York Red Bulls soccer team will be utilizing their time in a truly unique and philanthropic manner.

The Red Bulls will partner with Haitian-born, Grammy Award winning musician Wyclef Jean's non-political movement, Yéle Haiti to go on a six-day service trip to his native country of Haiti from Thursday, November 30 to Tuesday, December 5. The Red Bulls team members traveling will be 17-year-old forward Jozy Altidore, whose parents were born and raised in Haiti and immigrated to the United States in the early 70s; forward Jerrod Laventure, whose father was born and raised in Haiti; and midfielder Seth Stammler. This will mark the first time Altidore and Laventure will travel to their families' former homeland.

"I am very excited to go to Haiti," said Altidore, whose mother grew up in Port-au-Prince, his father in Les Cayes. "I know it will be a very interesting experience for me because my parents were in a situation similar to the one that many of the people living in Haiti now face. It is great to know that I can help make a difference."

"For me personally, this trip hits very close to home and I am truly privileged to be a part of it," said Laventure, whose father grew up in Port-au-Prince. "With all the recent events that have been going on in Haiti, it is a great opportunity for me to help those who truly need it and positively impact the lives of the people we meet."

"When I first started this foundation, I told you that Yéle Haiti is not a charity. It's a movement, and it fills my heart to see that the youth of Haiti is leading this movement," said Wyclef Jean.

During their first two days in Haiti, the Red Bulls will join Wyclef in Jacmel, where he will be performing a free concert for an estimated 50,000 people, his first since performing with the Fugees in 1997. The concert is being held in conjunction with the 3rd annual Jacmel Film Festival <http://www.festivalfilmjakmel.com/> , which aims to provide the Haitian people the tools to achieve sustainable progress and long-term development. The country's only international film festival, 80 films from film festivals around the world are being dubbed into Creole, as the country has a 60%+ illiteracy rate and people would not be able to read sub titles. In addition, all films are free, otherwise those intended to benefit would not be able to go because they could not pay for a ticket. Films are an important part of development. 65% of Haiti does not have electricity, so most do not have access to TV or films.

From there, the Red Bulls will travel to the capital city of Port-au-Prince and conduct instructional clinics and seminars for Haitian children at the sports non-governmental organization that Yéle Haiti supports, L'Athletique d'Haiti. Founded by former political prisoner Robert Duvall, L'Athletique is one of the main soccer facilities for youth in Haiti. The Red Bulls players will conduct seminars and clinics for the children, coaches and referees. Even though Haiti has a national obsession for soccer, many coaches and referees are not trained well enough to give the children the best instruction. Seminars and workshops are considered an important element in development, as sports provides all children with the tools to foster much needed self-esteem and confidence.

One of Yéle Haiti's capstone projects, L'Athletique d'Haiti hosts an after-school soccer program for 650 youth from the Cite Soliel and Bel Air sections of Port-au-Prince. Cite Soleil and Bel Air are the worst slums in Haiti, totaling between 400,000 - 500,000 people that live in shacks without running water, sanitation or electricity. In addition, out of 1,032 schools in Port-au-Prince, only 4 provide sports as part of the curriculum due to human and infrastructure impediments. In addition to the clinics, the Red Bulls will also donate a substantial amount of clothing and soccer equipment which has been collected by Red Bulls Equipment Manager Craig Chmiel over the course of the season. They also plan to visit a few of Yele Haiti's other initiatives.

The Jacmel Film Festival is the only international film festival in Haiti. The director of the festival has acquired 80 films from around the world which are all being dubbed into Creole. All films are free. Yéle Haiti's collaboration with the festival is using music and film to engage the Haitian people and develop new models for community development, using popular mediums to engage and empower Haitian youth. The festival is creating an institution that will eventually have a film school, creating a national communication strategy and campaign. Because the population is largely illiterate, and because they are so isolated due to the fact that electricity and access to television is so limited, this is a form of education, providing them with exposure to different cultures and scenarios for handling different life situations. The impact of the festival is profound.