2009 Idols winner Jason Hartman will be the celebrity face of the International Anti Poaching Foundation (IAPF), the non-profit organisation that aims at combating poaching on a global level through recruiting, training, equipping and deploying rangers to protect our wildlife. Whereas there is a frontline in place with highly skilled and trained rangers to meet poaching head-on, Jason’s involvement will be at community level.
“Although we need to target the actual poachers, we also need to combat the cause, which in many instances arises from the mere need for poorer communities to put food on the table,” said Jason, who will be undertaking intensive training to gain a more holistic view on the global problem. “Through my personal projects – Jason’s Garden and Men of Trees – my goal is to reduce the desire to poach at community level by uplifting them and teaching them how to sustain themselves though methods such as basic subsistence farming.”
The threat of poaching is increasing daily, and to date it is the second largest criminal activity in the world at a cost of $13 billion annually, followed by human trafficking and just behind drug trafficking. Aside from rhino and elephant poaching, one of the biggest threats to our planet is the poaching of wood, which has a direct impact on global warming through deforestation.
“We were only too happy to work with Jason as his mind-set of tackling poaching at community level has added a fresh approach to reducing this problem,” said Damien Mander, Director, International Anti Poaching Foundation, “Our team will be able to learn from his ability to engage with people through his music and extensive experience of working within poorer communities.”
Jason shot to fame as the joint winner of the 2009 season of Idols and had a smash hit with Break The Silence from his top-selling album On The Run (Sony Music). He is currently working on a new CD which will be out in early 2012, the first single out in November this year. This year also saw Jason perform at the wedding festivities of the Prince and Princess of Monaco.
About Jason Hartman (www.jasonhartman.co.za)
Born and raised in the Kwazulu-Natal Midlands in South Africa, singer songwriter Jason Hartman’s love for music was evident from a very young age. In his teens, Jason and his brother Scott joined their father and formed a 3-piece band out of pure necessity to survive. They spent a decade together performing at various venues and corporate functions earning their keep through their mind-blowing performances. Jason then broke away and moved to Johannesburg where he began busking for a living. Soon after this, he put together a 2-pieced duo called Justus, which won the Duo Competition at Tanz Café in Bryanston. This was the beginning of a successful career in the South African music industry.
It was 2009 Idols that truly put Jason on the map as one of South Africa’s finest acts. He lost a bet with a group of friends and was challenged to enter the competition at the age of 29 a year before the contest’s cut-off age. Reluctant at first to enter, he braved the queues and admits that the incredible talent he was competing against overwhelmed him. He nearly gave up but continued to climb up to higher rounds and soon found himself in the top 10 with millions of adoring eyes on him every week. Jason came second to Sasha-Lee but a discrepancy in the voting meant that he was in fact the person with the most votes. However the title of winner of Idols 2009 was shared between the two gifted singers, the first time in the history of the competition that the accolade has been given to two people. Sasha-Lee joined Jason on a track on his debut album, On The Run (Sony Music) which was released in 2009.
The predominantly self-penned album has been his biggest dream to date. Two songs, Break The Silence and On The Run, became number one hits on most national radio stations and the third single, Chasing Stars, has achieved considerable radio airplay across the country.
Jason was given the Freedom of the Town of Howick in Natal (his home town) alongside Pixie Bennett, a fellow Idols contestant. The only other person to have been given this prestigious honor was Nelson Mandela.
Since his joint victory as the winner of the most celebrated reality contest in the country, Jason has performed continuously to audiences all over South Africa. His current band consists of his brother Scott on drums and vocals and his father, Sam on guitar and vocals, as well as a bass player. In fact, the quality of his live performance is so highly acclaimed that he opened for USA Idols winner Kelly Clarkson and was also personally invited by the Prince and Princess of Monaco to partake in their wedding festivities. Jason and his band blew audiences away in Monaco with performances at the Monaco Grand Prix and an opening gig for the Eagles, both performances earned them a standing ovation and celebrity status in that country.
Jason turned his hand to acting with a leading debut role in A Million Colors, a South African/ Canadian production set for international release in August 2011 at the Toronto Film Festival. The movie is based on the two stars of the highly successful movie E`Lolipop , after they received international fame and recognition, many years ago. Jason recently appeared on the soundtrack to the animated movie, Jock, based on Sir Percy Fitzpatrick’s novel Jock of the Bushveld, which was released in July 2011.
Aside from music, Jason’s passion is the environment, in particular gardening. He has always been at home in the tranquility of Mother Nature and leverages off his celebrity status to put across very authentic messages on sustainability and environmental awareness. Jason heads up an NGO called The Men of Trees NGO (www.motto.org.za) and is driving several ‘green’ projects such as sustainable vegetable gardens in schools. Sustainability in the garden is very important to Jason and he proudly shows underprivileged people all over the country how to plant crops in tyres in order to feed their families. His love for gardening is well known, and a visit to his website www.jasonsgarden.com will delight all plant lovers and everyone that wants global warming and poverty to stop. Jason’s trip to Monaco enabled him to build up a lot of support from some of Europe’s most influential people and he will be joining them in a drive to end global poaching and will incorporate awareness and a very serious message into his shows and new music he is working on.
Jason describes himself, with a grin, as “just an authentic, down – to – earth guy who happens to be a muso!” Backed by his team and stalwart family and armed with his guitar, Jason continues to hold his head up high as a major force in the South African music industry, and quite possibly internationally too.
About International Anti Poaching Foundation (www.iapf.org)
The IAPF has shown that through education and action an actual difference can be made to the current crisis. The IAPF understands the necessity for the service it provides and seeks to collaborate openly with all other similar orientated organisations.
The IAPF was started in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Members spend majority of their time in the field, however they do regularly return to Victoria Falls town between projects to regroup and conduct fundraising activities. The IAPF training academy is based just outside the Falls on 5000 hectares of land where there is an abundance of wildlife.
Damien Mander had a military career of 9 years, 3 years of which were spent in Iraq. He has invested his life savings including the sale of 4 investment properties to fund the start up of the IAPF. The Raw for Africa music festival is held every January which also raises much needed funds. The IAPF has not begun to source external funding, believing awareness is the key and with time, the right people will come forward.
IAPF will protect and preserve wildlife through the provision of specialist training and equipment to anti poaching units and communities in volatile regions.
