Jared Leto's Haiti magic

Jan 20, 2010, 13:04 GMT

Jared Leto had a "magical time" living in Haiti as a youngster.

The actor-and-musician moved to the Caribbean nation with his mother Constance and brother Shannon Leto when he was 12 years old and has described his time there as "life-changing".

He explained: "It was a magical time. Could you imagine being a kid in such an exotic place? It was eye opening. It was a life-changing experience."

Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake last week and a second one today (20.01.10), both have caused mass destruction and killed thousands of residents.

However, Jared - who usually refuses to talk about his personal life - is confident the area will recover because the community has a "strong spirit".

He explained: "I tend to keep my life stories to myself. You've got to keep some things for yourself. You can't give everything away.

"They have such a strong spirit and a wonderful culture and joy even in the midst of all the struggles they have gone through."

The 38-year-old rocker has appealed to the world to help raise relief funds - but won't be returning to the island.

He told E! Online: "The Haitian people are resilient people and they're survivors. If I thought that running down to Haiti tomorrow would be the best course of action, I would certainly do that. But the important thing right now is cash... This is going to be a long journey and a very long recovery process. This isn't something that is going to be fixed overnight."

Jared's band 30 Seconds to Mars are helping raise money themselves. They're auctioning off concert tickets, backstage passes and dinner with the group on auctioning website eBay.

They have also vowed to continue raising money during their upcoming European tour.