NEW YORK- As the Coronavirus has ravaged the Haitian community and threatened to inflict severe health casualties in Haiti, the Haitian Medical Association Abroad (Association Medicale Haitienne a l’Etranger)( AMHE) has partnered with the Haitian Times and scores of community organizations to raise money for manpower and medical supplies to lower the casualties of the Coronavirus epidemic.
The event, which is called, “The Haitian-American Alliance Covid-19 Concert” will be livestreamed on The Haitian Times Facebook, @thehaitiantimes. Instagram, @haitiantimes, and Youtube pages on Sunday, May 17, 2020 from 7PM to 10 PM.
Some of the top entertainers in the Haitian musical industry have lend their talent to this worthy cause. The concert will feature, Grammy winner, Wyclef Jean, Klass, NuLook, Harmonik, Belo, Darline Desca,Ram, Paul Beaubrun, Vayb, BuyuAmbroise and the blues and red band, Joel Widmaier and many more.
In addition to the performances, well-known Haitian-Americansand others will share a 1 to 2 minute message of hope and sympathy. The concert will be hosted by Carel Pedre, a prominent media personality in Haiti.
“We felt that it is important to do something like this,” said Dr. Jean Claude Compas, a retired family medical practicephysician and AMHE member. “The models of COVID-19 that we’re looking at for Haiti are flashing red and if we don’t do something, it will make the devastation from the earthquake look small in terms of human lives lost.”
May is Haitian Heritage Month and the concert will be held the day before Flag Day, which is May 18. As such, the theme of the concert is “Unity” and the lineup was carefully chosen to encompass all Haitian musical genre from Konpa to Racine, to Jazz, to twoubadou to folk.
The Unity concert is made possible with the support of: Metroplus, SEIU 1199, Healthfirst and Belmachann.com. Venus Productions.
“This is as much a celebration of our culture as it is a fundraiser,” said Garry Pierre-Pierre, founder of the Haitian Times. “We want to share our culture at the same time we’re asking for help. Haiti’s culture is rich and diverse and I believe people will get a glimpse of that.”
The Unity Concert will showcase the work that Haitian organizations in New York have been doing to help in this existential threat as they mobilize to help their ancestral homeland.
The organizers have set an ambitious goal to raise $500,000 to be donated to the Haiti Global Health Alliance, which has been tasked to lead the response to the pandemic in the country.
The funds will be collected via a Gofundme page
page created by the Haitian Medical Association Abroad, a nearly 50 year-old organization (501)(c) 3 working in the United States.
To ensure full transparency, the Haitian Medical Association has also hired an independent law and accounting firm to audit the money raised. The Haiti Global Health Alliance has done the same. The report will be published on the Haitian Times websiteand shared widely on social media and other outlets.
“We need everyone to pitch in to help us defeat Coronavirus,”said Dr. Karl Latortue, President of AMHE-NY and MedicalDirector of a large multidisciplinary medical center in Long Island City, Queens. “This is a war and as healthcare workers, we are at the front line of this fight. Make no mistake about this. We will conquer this virus.”