Wyclef Jean named roving ambassador for Haiti

By: Yves Erwin Salomon

Former Fugees member Wyclef Jean has been diligently working to bring stability to his native Haiti. The rapper founded the Yele Haiti Foundation to help uplift the country's children through art programs and economic empowerment and he was recently instrumental in the release of a kidnap victim. Jean was rewarded for his hard work by Haiti's president, Rene Preval, on Wednesday, January 3rd, when he was appointed roving ambassador for Haiti.

Foreign Affairs Minister Renald Clerisme told Reuters, "We wish we could have several Wyclefs as roving ambassadors because the country could have gained so much."

In his new role, Jean will continue to lobby in Washington, DC for the passage of a trade bill that will create textile manufacturing jobs in Haiti. He will also attempt to promote the country abroad.

Jean will accompany Preval on a three-day tour of Jamaica in the coming weeks.