Rosemond Jolissaint
Haiti's Own "American Idol"

Kenny Neal
American Blues Master

Rosemond Jolissaint is Haiti’s youngest rising star. Last year, Rosemond inspired people from all over Haiti to vote him to victory as the youngest contestant among tens of thousands of participants in Haiti’s first Digicel Stars competition (similar to "American Idol").

Rosemond, a teenager, won the both contest and the heart of the people through his compelling song writing and his gentle manner. Raised in peasant life, his first song entitled Ala traka pou neg lakay, speaks of poverty and struggle. The lyrics resonate with the majority of Haitians who are living far below the international poverty line.

Palo Alto-based bluesman Kenny Neal, born in New Orleans and raised in Baton Rouge, is known as a modern swamp-blues master and multi-instrumentalist, who draws musically from the sizzling sounds of his native Louisiana.

Kenny has been honored with numerous awards, most recently:
• 2009 Monterey Bay Blues Artist of the Year Award
• 2009 Blues Music Award Song of the Year
• 2009 West Coast Blues Hall of Fame Award for Blues CD of the Year
• 2009 Blueswax Album of the Year "Let Life Flow"
• 2009 Four Grammy Award Nominations

S.O.I.L.
www.oursoil.org 

Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting soil resources, empowering communities and transforming wastes into resources in Haiti, one of the most economically impoverished and culturally rich countries in the western hemisphere. They believe that the path to sustainability is through transformation, of both disempowered people and discarded materials, turning apathy and pollution into valuable resources. SOIL promotes integrated approaches to the problems of poverty, poor public health, agricultural productivity, and environmental destruction. They attempt to nurture collective creativity through developing collaborative relationships between community organizations in Haiti and academics and activists internationally-- empowering communities, building the soil, nourishing the grassroots.

Immediately after the earthquake, SOIL relocated, temporarily, to Port au Prince. They are currently working exclusively on disaster relief assisting medical teams, distributing aid resources, as well as addressing the sanitation issues. While many large international aid organizations are still unable to distribute the resources due to multi-tiered bureaucracy and security restrictions, SOIL is embedded in the community, working with local Haitian community leaders to distribute aid directly to the people.
 

Haiti Emergency Relief Fund
www.haitiaction.net

Haiti’s grassroots movement – including labor unions, women’s groups, educators and human rights activists, support committees for prisoners, and agricultural cooperatives – will attempt to funnel needed aid to those most hit by the earthquake. Grassroots organizers are doing what they can – with the most limited of funds – to make a difference. Please take this chance to lend them your support. This is a time for all of us to act.

Since its inception in March 2004, the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund has given concrete aid to Haiti’s grassroots democratic movement as they attempted to survive the brutal coup and to rebuild shattered development projects.  In response to the earthquake, they have helped to send medical supplies to the Aristide Foundation, which has become a center for medical relief work in the Port-au-Prince area. They have given funds to a series of neighborhood committees organized by grass roots activists in Port-au-Prince. These committees have been housing the homeless, providing food and water for those who have never seen any U.S. military or UN aid. Neighbors helping neighbors, Haitians helping Haitians, activists helping to sustain their local areas.

"Our aid goes directly into the hands of Haitians. We give aid, not charity; we respect the people of Haiti and honor their commitment to lead the rebuilding of their society in the wake of this disaster."