Wyclef Jean dealt with a bunch of criticism about the profits donated to his Yele Haiti foundation. The New York Post has gone into detail with a story entitled, "Questions Dog Wyclef's Haiti Fund."

Those details include a breakdown of the money and where percentages of it went. The Post reported that 5.1 million of 16 million dollars raised went to the country that suffered a monstrous earthquake.

$400,000 went to a company owned by Wyclef's brother-in-law Warnel Pierre.

Another million went to Amisphere Farm Labor Inc., a company that Clef claims is responsible for 100,000 meals but the paper said they don't even exist. Yele Haiti paid $577,185 to a company that supplied water but a $35,000 a month home was rented for volunteers to live in. The former Fugee has since stepped down from the foundation.

Jean held a Jan. 18, 2010, press conference to defend Yele Haiti's reputation.

“Have we made mistakes before? Yes. Did I ever use Yele money for personal benefits? Absolutely not. Yele's books are open and transparent.”

Wyclef has now issued a statement to allhiphop.com. You can read his response to the accusations below.

I started Yele in 2005 because I wanted to help people that were helpless in my home country of Haiti. People who didn't have a voice, people who didn't have resources, people who had mostly been forgotten.

Since Yele launched six years ago we have helped close to half a million people. I will always love and serve the Haitian people until the day I die.

The NY Post piece entitled, “Questions Dog Wyclef's Haiti Fund” is misleading, deceptive and incomplete. The Post conveniently fails to acknowledge that the decisions that Yele made were a response to one of the world's most catastrophic natural disasters in modern history and required an immediate humanitarian response.

There were no roads, no clean water, no sanitation, no banks, no electricity, no infrastructure. Immediate decisions were made to save lives and alleviate suffering. We made decisions that enabled us to provide emergency assistance in the midst of chaos and we stand by those decisions. We did the best we could with the available resources.

I am proud of the way that Yele handled the crisis on the ground in 2010. We were able to feed, clothe, provide medical assistance and shelter for more than 250 thousand people in need.

What the article doesn't say is that the construction projects funded by Yele Haiti were responsible for rebuilding an orphanage, building a temporary assistance facility, and had constructed a system of out door toilet and shower facilities in Cite Soliel one of the largest slums in Port-au-Prince.

The Post never highlights that Amisphere Farm Labor was responsible for preparing and delivering close to 100,000 meals.

The Samosa SA property referenced by The Post was located in the vicinity of the largest tent camps in Port-au-Prince. Yele chose that location because it was closest to the people it needed serve.

All of these facts as well as photos and testimonials were readily available to The Post for their story. Unfortunately, they chose not to include these facts and instead chose to imply that Yele “squandered” donors money.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Finally, the percentage of funds used is consistent with NGOs and Not For Profits operating in Haiti at the time. I have acknowledged that Yele has made mistakes in the past, including being late in IRS filings, but that is old news. When I entered politics last summer, I transitioned from being a board member and chairman of Yele Haiti to a supporter.

The new and good news is that Yele under new leadership, despite efforts to undermine its credibility and effectiveness, continues its mission to serve people in need.

– Wyclef Jean

As previously reported, Wyclef issued a statement saying that he was shot in the hand while visiting the country of the eve of Presidential elections.
According to Wyclef, he was exiting a vehicle to make a phone call when an unidentified assailant shot him in the hand around 11 p.m. Saturday.

"The way I can explain it is that the bullet grazed me in my right hand. I heard blow, blow, blow and I just looked at my hand," he said.

 

Local police however have dismissed Wyclef's claims and say he was only cut by glass, not struck by a bullet.

"We met with the doctor who saw him and he confirmed Wyclef was cut by glass," Vanel Lacroix, police chief in Petionville, told the Daily Mail.

Wyclef has yet to respond.

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A rep for Wyclef Jean is confirming that the former Fugee was shot in the hand while in Haiti.

The emcee who previously wanted to be a nominee for Haitian Presidency, was reportedly shot in Port-au-Prince on Saturday -- on the eve of the country's presidential runoff vote.

His representative Cindy Tanenbaum has released a statement on his behalf saying,

"Wyclef's commitment to his native country and to his people is unparalleled. He is therefore undeterred by this incident."

She adds,

"Wyclef Jean was the victim of a minor gun shot wound last night in Haiti. I have confirmed from Wyclef that he was immediately taken to the hospital, treated for a minor graze to his hand and released.  He is fine."

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Wyclef Jean And Actor Sean Penn Reconcile
Rapper Wyclef Jean and actor Sean Penn, who traded insults during Clef's Haiti presidential run, have reconciled their differences.

Last year, the two became embroiled in beef during Wyclef's shortened presidential run after Penn publicly made comments strongly opposing Jean's candidacy.

The former Fugee later accused the actor of snorting cocaine during a performance with the footage of Clef going viral and only adding to the drama.

But over the weekend, the men made amends.

On Saturday (February 12), they both happened to be at a show for the Haitian band T-Vice at the New York club, BB Kings.

The former rivals reportedly locked themselves in a dressing room for 30 minutes and only emerged after they had hashed out their misunderstandings.

Later, Clef and Penn met on stage in support of Haitian presidential candidate Michel Martelly, who was also in attendance.

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Today marks the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake that rocked the country of Haiti.

Haitian ambassador and artist Wyclef Jean has been adamant about helping his native country and now one year later, Clef says that Haiti still needs help.

The founder and head of Yele Haiti reportedly sent over $1 million to help those affected by the tragedy but still says it's not enough.

He tells Power 105.1,

“There's still 1.2 million people living in tents…we think the International community, America and all the powers that be, with all the money that was collected and the billion dollar funding---we need to start allocating some of the funds so we can get to work.”

Clef also took to Twitter Wednesday to post a picture of him reuniting with his fellow former Fugee Pras.

The two made headlines in 2010 for their ongoing war of words after Pras said he would not endorse him during his run for President of Haiti.

According to Clef however, the two have reconciled and made peace for Haiti.

“On my way 2 Haiti ran into Praz, what should I do make peace or go sit somewhere Else! I Made peace 4 Haiti!”

 

Listen to Wyclef talk the devastation in Haiti below.

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