By Tim Saunders on
It has been a busy few weeks for Ricky Martin – last Monday he presented government officials in Puerto Rico a study on human trafficking, and now he is fronting a campaign to help victims of the Haitian earthquake.
The She Bangs singer returned to his native country of Puerto Rico last week to urge the government to act on the human trafficking problem. He presented officials with a study carried out by his Ricky Martin Foundation that pinpoints the country as having a major role in the illegal sex and kidnapping trade.
“This is happening on our island,” he said. “We cannot turn our back on the victims.”
This week, the singer is fronting a campaign with Habitat For Humanity to help victims of the Haitian earthquake. He teamed up with a host of famous names – including Alicia Keys, Ellen DeGeneres, Eva Longoria, Ryan Seacrest, Adam Lambert, Jimmy Fallon, Switchfoot, Linkin Park, Janet Jackson, Carrie Underwood and Dave Matthews – to produce a video to encourage people to give big to the Recovery Fund.
“Every aspect of people’s lives in Haiti has been disrupted, and in many cases, almost completely destroyed,” said Martin, who travelled to Haiti on January 19 to see the disaster firsthand. "Although hearts and homes are shattered, spirits aren’t broken. Meeting the families in Port Au Prince affected my soul and I knew I had to do all I could to protect the children.
“So, just like we did after the tsunami in Thailand, the Ricky Martin Foundation partnered with Habitat for Humanity and created a long-term plan. We then reached out to the artistic community and asked people to join us in our call to action. The response was overwhelming―over twenty top musicians, artists and TV personalities helped us create the RMFHaiti video.
"Please join us as we rebuild hope, rebuild homes and rebuild Haiti."
There are a number of ways you can help the campaign – through texting, donating and Twitter – and a number of celebrities involved in the video – including the Black Eyed Peas, Jada Pinkett Smith, Justin Bieber, Will Smith and many more – have autographed hardhats to be auctioned by Charity Buzz until March 9. Click here to access the auction.
Ricky Martin is also giving away VIP meet-and-greet passes to his concerts to people who make donations.
To find out more about Ricky’s initiative and how you can help, click here. To watch the all-star video, click here.
“Children and families impacted by this disaster will need long-term help restoring their lives—in every sense of the word. Every family is a family in need,” says Martin. “I’m asking each of you to think about the future of the children. What they will need to survive after they are properly fed and have received appropriate medical care is a safe and decent home.”
Copyright © 2010 Look to the Stars
