Haitian President Michel Martelly With Ambassador Olden Polynice (HaitiLibre.com)
A Private Ceremony was held at the National Palace in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
Los
Angeles, November
19, 2012 – Olden Polynice, former National Basketball Association (NBA)
Player, was appointed as the newest Ambassador to Haiti. In a private
ceremony
held at the National Palace in Port – Au- Prince, the capitol of Haiti,
President Michel Martelly presented Polynice with a special
certification and discussed Polynice’s role in aiding Haiti in their
continued efforts to grow and build a sustainable Haiti.
Polynice joins an A-list of celebrities recently named Ambassador
including Sean Penn, Maria Bello, and Petra Nemacova.
Born November 21, 1964
in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Polynice moved to the United States as a
child with his family in search of the American Dream. This dream would
be realized as Polynice was later drafted to
the NBA playing 15 years in the league for the Seattle SuperSonics, Los
Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings, and Utah Jazz.
Polynice hopes to use his visibility in the sports community to give
Haiti a voice and to bring awareness to the nation’s
cause.
Polynice has always
been politically involved and supportive of Haitian efforts. During his
basketball career, it wasn’t unheard of to find Polynice speaking out on
behalf of Haiti and other injustices. In 1993,
Polynice staged a hunger strike in protest of the U.S. immigration
policies on Haitian refugees. In 2010, during the catastrophic
earthquake which paralyzed Haiti, Polynice made several national pleas
to mobilize support for Haiti, including helping to raise
funds during the national Hope For Haiti charity telethon along-side
other celebrities including Jack Nicolson, Mel Gibson, Drew Carey,
Daniel Craig, Wyclef Jean, Rihanna and many others.
In 2010, Polynice
established a relationship with the Clinton-Bush Haiti fund to publicize
and aid Haiti’s recovery efforts and to ensure that Haiti is never
forgotten. His appointment as Ambassador will help
move his life’s work forward. In the role of Ambassador, Polynice aims
to work towards building fundraising efforts to help Haiti continue its
path to growth and recovery.
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