MADONNA AND SEAN PENN FOR J/P HAITIAN RELIEF ORGANIZATION

The mission at J/P Haitian Relief Organization (J/P HRO) is simple: To save lives and bring sustainable programs to the Haitian people quickly and effectively. Following the tragic earthquake of 2010, J/P HRO began working immediately to make meaningful and lasting impact in Haiti. Today, J/P HRO programs focus on supporting the residents of the camps we manage and the surrounding areas transition from life left homeless by the earthquake to durable, sustainable and prosperous communities. Early on, J/P HRO became camp manager of Pétionville Camp, serving up to 60,000 internally displaced persons. Our staff, which is nearly 350-strong and 95 percent Haitian, is working every day to provide education, health and community development, and economic opportunities. Taking a geographically focused and integrated approach to community regeneration, J/P HRO programs empower the residents of Delmas 32 to revitalize their neighborhood. Together, we aim to demonstrate that something fundamentally different can come from a slum in the center of one of the world’s poorest cities: sustainable and prosperous communities. We work with the support and in collaboration with local and national government leaders, community based organizations, other international NGO’s, UN agencies, donors and-most importantly-the community members themselves.




Sean Penn is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of J/P Haitian Relief Organization. Two-time Academy Award® winner Sean Penn has become an American film icon in a career spanning nearly three decades. Penn’s humanitarian work has found him in New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and more recently in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. In January 2010, Penn founded the J/P Haitian Relief Organization, which focuses on medical aid, protection, and re-location. His organization is currently serving as UN IOM designated Camp Management for one of the largest IDP camps in Port-au-Prince and established the first emergency re-location in the country. For his efforts in Haiti, Penn was named Ambassador at Large to the nation of Haiti on January 14th, 2012, he received the Commander’s Award for Service (US Army 82nd Airborne Division), 82nd Airborne Award for Meritorious Service, the Operation Unified Response JTF Haiti Certificate from Lieutenant General, US Army Commander P.K. Keen, along with the 1st Recon 73rd Division Coin of Excellence, 2nd Brigade Combat Team Coin of Excellence, Commendation of Excellence United States Southern Command, and Award of Excellence by the Deputy Commander US Southern Command. Earlier this year, Penn was honored with the “Children’s and Families Global Development Fund Humanitarian Award” presented by the Ambassador of the Republic of Haiti, Raymond A. Joseph and his wife, Lola Poisson-Joseph. Additionally, in July 2010 Penn was knighted by Haitian President Rene Preval in a ceremony in Port-Au-Prince.