By Lorenzo W. Snelling | Special to Le Floridien
Long before Haiti drifted into a whirlpool of violence and anarchy since the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, as gang violence continues to terrorize citizens in Port-au-Prince and other cities, a Key Biscayne, Florida-based non profit organization has gone to bat for students and adults since the 2010 earthquake destroyed the caribbean island.
Flying High 4 Haiti has undertaken programs to empower the poor people in Haiti through education, arts and youth sports amid despair the island has been experiencing since the earthquake that killed at least 220,000 people and caused over $7 billion in damages.
Ines Lozano, who founded Flying High 4 Haiti in 2012, often visited Haiti, especially the island of Ile-a-Vache, and accompanied her husband, a reporter, on trips covering stories there since the earthquake.
Lozano, who’s Hispanic and a former private school principal in Miami, said she fell in love with residents living in lle-a-Vache, a beautiful island despite being impoverished with no running water, electricity or paved roads.
So, she decided to adopt Haiti for humanitarian projects in her efforts to help improve life and education opportunities for young and old residents of Ile-a-Vache and other small cities on the island.
“Most people see levels of poverty in Haiti but not the beauty of the people and the island,” said Lozano, who’s an education consultant by trade. “I have decided to help out in as many ways as I can. A lot of kids lost their homes and some became orphans after the earthquake.”
Lozano said her organization includes local teachers, students and sponsors, and connects with Zero Waste, another non-profit, to make sure funding and supplies reach the people and schools in Ile-a-Vache.
Lozano said she frequently visited Haiti since the earthquake but hasn’t been back since the gang violence erupted.
“I really miss going there to the island but I have good local people leading the project like teachers and administrators,” she said. “Hopefully I can go back there.”
Lozano said Flying High 4 Haiti has helped fund projects to rebuild schools, improve kids’ educations and sporting activities, and contribute to teachers’ salaries.
It has built five classrooms and four bathrooms and completely renovated the main building of Ecole du Village, the community school.
The most recent project was a soccer gear drive for kids in Haiti.
The group’s latest project in Haiti was arranged by Santiago Diez de Oñate, a 15-year-old resident of Key Biscayne, who organized the drive that resulted in donations being sent to Ile a Vache for the school’s 135 students.
“It brings me joy watching the Haitian kids playing soccer so happily,” said Diez de Oñate.
Lozano said her organization also provided funding to build a soccer field for kids to learn to play the sport and host tournaments, and send new reading glasses to Haiti for 300 children.
Lozano said she hopes the art programs inspire the kids to become professional artists because they already have talent at an early age.
“The art kids are so creative,” she said. “They are so eager for a brighter future.”
For more information on Flying High 4 Haiti or interested in becoming a sponsor or volunteer visit www.flyinghigh4haiti.org or call 305-301-0024
Photo Flying High 4 Haiti founder Ines Lozano with students at a school in the Eole du Village in Ile-a-Vache, Haiti.
