Flying High for Haiti is a non-profit organization that takes its name from the Haitian children who enjoy making their own kites from plastic garbage and sticks. The goal of Flying High for Haiti is to empower communities through sustainable development by providing access to educational opportunities.
Ile-a-Vache is a beautiful but terribly poor island with no running water, electricity or roads. Bare foot, children run around the island, flying home made kites and playing on its stunning virgin beaches, almost oblivious to the outside world. Fortunately it is far from the political woes of the capital, and it is a peaceful place. But it could be so much more if the right opportunities existed. That is not easy as the island is a 5 hours drive from Port-au-Prince, plus a 45 minute ride by boat from the city of Les Cayes. In Haiti, where most high school children do not have access to high education opportunities, there is a colossal need to find reasons for children to stay in school and prepare them for jobs in the real world. Most of the children drop out of school in 6th-7th grade. The only jobs on the island are fishing and agriculture, and most food and water must be imported by boat. But the potential for sustainable development is there with the recent arrival of cellular coverage to the island, as well as solar panels and a burgeoning tourism industry that seeks to promote its beaches, and undiscovered pristine island life.
As a result of our fund-raising we have been able to to help build new classrooms for the 120 children at the Kakok community school on the island, Ecole du Village, and pay teacher's salaries. The art and photography exhibitions in Miami have helped raise awareness about the educational needs of the children in Ile-a-Vache while encouraging the children to complete their education and aspire to a better standard of living. The children are creative, cheerful and wonderfully well behaved. They love contact with the outside world and enjoy enormously interacting with foreigners.
