Haitian School Sees Path to Success

    It was the generous support of eastern Long Island residents, as well as private donations, that made it possible to have a school, medical clinic, community garden, livestock program, job development program, and the beginning of a productive, integrated community development program in Croix des Bouquet, Haiti, Jonathan Glynn of Sag Harbor said on Tuesday.

    Initiated by Wings Over Haiti, the umbrella organization that Mr. Glynn founded after flying supplies into the region following the devastating earthquake in January of 2010, the school will now be its own corporation. “I’m very proud of all the people who gave with their hearts, their hands, and their minds, as well as all the volunteers involved,” Mr. Glynn said.

    “The Wings over Haiti organization is accomplishing what it set out to do,” he said. The school is run by Haitians. Two acres of land have been purchased. There is a clean water filtration plant, and the school has the means to feed 75 to 100 people a day, including students and their parents. “It became obvious when one of our students died,” Mr. Glynn said, “that it’s ridiculous to try to educate the children there if we can’t keep them alive.”

    The nonprofit corporation will now be a foundation dedicated to specific projects that will include the school, but will not be exclusive to it. “Our goal right from the start was to give children from the most desperate communities in our hemisphere an opportunity to learn, grow, and have healthy lives,” he said. “We will continue this work.”

    Tax-deductible contributions are welcomed, and can be sent to Wings Over Haiti at P.O. Box 192, Sag Harbor 11963.