Linkin Park and the United Nations Foundation Help Haiti Light the Future for Women and Girls

Band Uses the Power of Music to Bring Hope to Haiti; Urges Fans to Help Protect Women and Girls from Violence

Washington, DC/ Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PRWEB) April 14, 2011

Today, Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, a member of the two-time Grammy winning, multiplatinum band Linkin Park, returned from a trip to Haiti with the United Nations Foundation to see firsthand how the United Nations is helping Haiti rebuild, fifteen months after a major earthquake killed hundreds of thousands and destroyed much of the nation’s infrastructure. Among the many hardships facing Haitian women is the threat of sexual violence and intimidation. While in Haiti, Phoenix met with UN staff and Haitians to learn how something as simple as solar street lights are protecting women and children from violence at night in the camps, and how their charity Music for Relief has already helped to protect thousands.

“Haiti may have fallen from the headlines, but the country still needs our help,” says Linkin Park’s bassist Phoenix. “We can’t forget about the suffering that is still going on in Haiti. After meeting UN staff and Haitian families, I urge all of our fans to donate through Music For Relief’s Download to Donate for Haiti. It is an easy way for fans to stay engaged and together we can help the UN light the future for Haiti’s women and girls.”

“The UN and its partners, including the U.S. government, have helped Haitians make significant progress and we can be proud of the work the UN has done,” said UN Foundation’s Vice President for Public Policy and Better World Campaign Executive Director Peter Yeo, who accompanied Phoenix on the trip. “This trip reminded me how important it is to keep Haiti’s women and girls at the top of the international agenda. Something as simple as a lighted pathway can make a huge difference for a woman trying to survive the night without fear of violence. We all have a role to play in helping the UN help Haiti and everyone can make a difference.”

Over the past months, 200 cost-efficient, environmentally friendly and durable LED streetlights have been installed by the UN’s Population Fund with the guidance of Haitian women. The lamps, provided with support from the UN Foundation, Music for Relief, and USAID, are already leading to a reduction of violent incidents. In addition, regular patrols by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the Haitian police are helping to reign in crime.

Music fans are encouraged to Download to Donate (or text “RELIEF” to 90999) and make a $10 donation as part of Linkin Park’s charity Music for Relief. In return, supporters gain access to a digital album featuring unreleased tracks by a growing number of artists, including Alanis Morissette, Glitch Mob, Crystal Method, Slash, and the original song by Linkin Park, Not Alone. Since it’s inauguration in 2005, the charity has raised more than $3.9 million for victims of natural disasters around the world, including Hurricane Katrina, monsoon flooding in Pakistan, and the tsunami in Japan. Since the earthquake, Download to Donate for Haiti has raised more than $270,000 supporting the work of five organizations in Haiti including the UN Foundation.

More Background
To date, the UN Foundation has raised nearly $4 million benefiting the UN’s relief efforts in Haiti. The funds were granted to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to help provide food, medicine, water and shelter following the earthquake; to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for the Cash for Work Program, an initiative to offer Haitians temporary jobs to remove rubble; and to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) to rebuild obstetric and reproductive health clinics, distribute maternal health kits, and provide solar street lights to keep women safe at night. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to the solar lights, the UN Foundation has decided to make that initiative the focus of its participation in Download to Donate. On the one-year anniversary of the earthquake, the UN Foundation hosted a Facebook Town Hall featuring Linkin Park band members and the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to keep the public engaged in rebuilding Haiti. For more information, please visit http://www.unfoundation.org/haiti.