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Grammy-Winning Reggae Group Steel Pulse Releases New Song for Haiti Charity
WASHINGTON, Aug 17, 2010 (ASCRIBE NEWS via COMTEX) --
Partners In
Health (PIH), The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) and
Grammy-winning reggae band Steel Pulse today announced the
release of Hold On [4 Haiti], a new song composed by lead
singer David Hinds and recorded to raise funds for the solar
electrification of health clinics for PIH in Haiti. The
clinics, operated by Zanmi Lasante, are located in the
remote mountain highlands and do not have access to the
electric grid. In the aftermath of the January earthquake in
Port-au-Prince, the facilities have experienced a rise in
demand for health-care services, countered by dangerous
fluctuations in fuel supplies needed to operate their
generators.
Steel Pulse has launched a new website,
http://www.holdon4haiti.org , where the song is available
for download on a donation basis. One hundred percent of
donations received will benefit Haiti.
Explained Mr. Hinds: "Because the initial media coverage
has waned considerably, we want to revitalize the focus on
Haiti's plight. We wrote Hold On [4 Haiti] to support the
people of Haiti through the work being done by the Solar
Electric Light Fund and Partners In Health. We've got to
make a real difference on the ground - that's what this
project is all about."
"Steel Pulse's Hold On [4 Haiti] is a song of hope," said
SELF's executive director, Bob Freling. "Our hope is that we
can solar electrify all 12 hospitals and health centers for
Partners In Health in Haiti. We were already working on
electrifying PIH clinics, but in the wake of the earthquake
we've been requested by PIH to accelerate our timeline for
bringing solar power to all of their sites in Haiti."
Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners In Health, has
been an advocate for the Solar Health Care Partnership
between the two organizations from the very beginning, when
SELF worked on electrifying PIH clinics in Africa. "We know
that solar energy is self-replenishing and sustainable. It
works for us in Africa, and we want to use it across all our
facilities in Haiti; diesel is already in short supply and
will likely become even more difficult to obtain as time
goes by," said Dr. Farmer. "This song by Steel Pulse serves
as a reminder that we stand with the people of Haiti in
solidarity and compassion."
About PIH
Partners In Health (PIH) works in 12 countries around the
world to provide quality health care to people and
communities devastated by joint burdens of poverty and
disease. PIH has been providing vital health care services
in Haiti for more than 20 years and is the largest health
care provider in the country, working with the Haitian
Ministry of Health to deliver comprehensive health care
services to a catchment area of 1.2 million across the
Central Plateau and the Lower Artibonite Valley. Learn more:
http://www.pih.org .
About SELF
The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) is a Washington,
DC-based nonprofit working to reduce energy poverty and
combat climate change by bringing solar power and wireless
Internet access to remote rural villages in the developing
world. SELF has pioneered innovative applications of solar
power for drip irrigation in Benin, telemedicine in the
Amazon rainforest, vaccine refrigeration in Rwanda, online
distance learning in South Africa, and microenterprise
development in Nigeria. These successful pilot projects
culminated in SELF's whole-village approach, or Solar
Integrated Development model. Since 1990, SELF has completed
projects in 20 countries, making it a leader among
non-governmental organizations in realizing practical and
cost-effective alternative energy solutions for rural
villagers. For more information, please visit
http://www.self.org .
About Steel Pulse
For over 35 years, Grammy-winning reggae band Steel Pulse
has won the hearts and minds of audiences all over the
world. Bob Marley numbered Steel Pulse among his favorite
reggae bands when the group had just come up out of
Birmingham in 1975. Steel Pulse performed at Bill Clinton's
inaugural celebration, the first reggae band to appear at
such an event. African Holocaust, their most recent album,
was been hailed as "the rebirth of political consciousness
in reggae music" and was received with accolades from fans
and critics alike. The band is currently working on a new
album and DVD. Visit: http://www.steelpulse.com .
- - - -
- Lauren Taylor, Communications Director
Solar Electric Light Fund
202-234-7265
lauren@self.org
- Andrew Marx, Director of Communications
Partners In Health
617-998-8977
communications@pih.org
((AScribe - The Public Interest Newswire / http://www.ascribe.org))
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