Yves Dayiti:
"Konbit Lakay"

You can go around the world without leaving the Washington DC metropolitan area. There are Greek festivals, Ethiopian restaurants, Italian shoes shops, countless South American grocery stores, however, there's only one Haitian institution, "Konbit Lakay with Yves Dayiti," a radio program geared toward the Haitian community.

For more than 18 years, every Saturday night, Jean Yves Point-du-Jour, better known as""Yves Dayiti" has been bringing a piece of Haiti to the nation's capital. Although at times controversial, thousands of Haitians tune in weekly to WPFW, 89.3 FM, to listen to music, news, information and discussion of issues related to the entire community.

WPFW is part of the Pacifica Foundation, a small network of radio stations around the country dedicated to alternative programming and emphasizes on peace, justice, and free speech. The radio station has been broadcasting for 25 years, and "Konbit Lakay" has been part of it for 18 of those years. During the week, Jean Yves Point-du-Jour is a well respected and successful engineer with the State Highway Administration, but for two hours on Saturday nights, he takes time out of his hectic schedule to transform into "Yves Dayiti."

Jean Yves Point-du-Jour was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, in 1953. His early education was at Ecole Coeur de Jesus, and later continued his studies at College Classique d'Haiti, and Lycee Petion. After graduation, Yves faced many uncertainties about his future, but in 1975, he managed to come to the United States.

He ended up in Baltimore, where he attended Morgan State University. Alone, without any family or friends, Yves survived "as a dishwasher, making minimum wage," paying for tuition, rent, and groceries. After years of hard work, he graduated with a BS degree in Mathematics, in 1980. Since then, Yves has received an MS degree in Transportation Studies at Morgan State, and an MS Civil Engineering in Transportation and Traffic Engineering in 1997, at University of Maryland. He is currently enrolled in a Doctoral Program at Morgan State School of Engineering.

He is involved with many organizations based in the Washington, DC area. Between 1980 and 1983, Yves served as a Paralegal for the Legal Aid Bureau, helping Haitians immigrant workers learn about their rights. He traveled the entire east coast, visiting the migrant camps, while working with the refugees. He spent some time in Florida, at the Haitian Refugee Center, teaching the refugees their rights and how to protect themselves from abuses and exploitation. "It was a tough job and I nearly got killed twice doing it. One time in Bridgeville, Delaware, the other time in Ruskin, Florida, a small town South of Tampa," explained Yves.

In the early 1990's, Yves settled down and started "Konbit Lakay." The best Konpa music is played, as well the latest news from Haiti. News from Haiti, along with Yves' commentaries, create the controversial moments of the show. There are those who find him too critical, and those who feel that he is too sympathetic. However, there's hardly any controversy when it comes to Yves' dedication to the community. WPFW is a volunteer radio station, the DJ's are not paid. Yves buys and plays the latest CD's and provides information about the events going on in the community.

Through all the years, it has taken a lot of dedications to give a loud voice to the Haitian community. While pursuing a demanding career and several post graduate degrees, Jean Yves Point-du-Jour has found time every week for 18 years to give back to his community.

© echodhaiti.com, October 2002