Wyclef’s Yele Haiti Fund Helps Haitian Amputees

Although press coverage of the Haitian recovery effort has subsided drastically in recent weeks, Wyclef Jean and his Yele Haiti Fund are still hard at work in the rebuilding process, following the devastating earthquake on January 12.

Yele Haiti recently teamed with the Global Medical Relief Fund (GMRF) to provide round trip tickets for three female amputees to receive treatment in Philadelphia. The young women reportedly arrived in New York on Thursday night, April 22, with their relatives and GMRF employees from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The team was scheduled to travel to the GMRF headquarters in Long Island, N.Y. and then on to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Pennsylvania where they will be treated at no cost.

The three girls -- 17-year-old Margarette Pierre, 17-year-old Chantal Mori both lost their arms in the earthquake, while 8-year-old Farah Maurice lost her leg. Yele Haiti's executive director, Nicole Cramer explained that the charity foundation took it upon themselves to cover the costs of transportation for the young victims. "It's an arduous emotional journey for earthquake victims who have already endured so much and the distances they must travel for treatment only make it harder," Cramer said. "That's why Yele Haiti responded to the GMRF's call for assistance with transportation for these young women."

Experts have determined that more than 200,000 Haitians will eventually lose their limbs in the aftermath of the earthquake, leading to a staggering number of disabled citizens in the country. Victims will require amputation to prevent the spread of infections, but overwhelmed clinics will not be able to provide prosthetic limbs to all of those in need.