Matt and Wyclef: Caribbean weekend

via Reuters

Over the weekend, Oscar-winner Matt Damon teamed up with Grammy-winner, Wyclef Jean for a trip to the Caribbean. But they weren’t there to vacation – the pair went to Haiti to deliver aid to victims of the four hurricanes and tropical storms that have hit the nation in the last month. Most recently, Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike cut off roadways and flooded homes, leaving more than 120,000 people without shelter, food or water.

Damon and Haitian-born Wyclef arrived on Saturday to deliver food to the residents of Gonaives, one of the hardest hit areas of the country. Touring the region from a United Nations helicopter, Damon was stunned to see people living on the rooftops of their homes. “I’m speechless, I can’t believe it,” Damon said.

The duo traveled by U.N. trucks and waded through the floodwaters to deliver rice and beans to shelters and churches. At one point, their truck got stuck in a ditch, so they handed out food on the side of the road.

Wyclef found it hard to express the desperation in his home country, “It’s inhumane. I wish there was a word in the dictionary,” he said, “No human should be living like this.” Damon and Jean joined forces with the U.N. and hope to raise more than $100 million for Haitians in need. Wyclef’s own charity, “Yele Haiti,” helped the World Food Program and other organizations distribute food to 3,000 families.

Damon didn’t seem to mind that his celeb status was almost unknown in Haiti, telling a reporter “It’s nice, it’s really easy to move through a crowd like this.” He was more focused on getting Americans on-board with the relief efforts. “Hopefully we can make enough noise that people will pay attention,” he said. “I truly believe in the people in my country.”

By CGG Contributing Reporter Julia Cleary Steers