Amid Political Crisis in Haiti, Nonprofit Helps Where It Knows How

When planning for this year’s Wings Over Haiti benefit in East Hampton began, the crises facing the nation already seemed monumental. Come July 7, they were all instantly recast in the light of political crisis: the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

Jonathan Nash Glynn, of Sag Harbor, has run the nonprofit since its inception in 2010, after a devastating earthquake leveled much of the nation. This year, he says conditions in the country are “probably worse than ever” in his memory.

While his organization builds schools, the president’s assassination has augmented their annual benefit’s profile: Alec Baldwin signed on as the event’s “honorary chair.”

The organization’s title, Wings Over Haiti, is an iteration of Mr. Glynn’s initial work: he packed his single-engine Cessna with doctors and medical supplies for 19 days, brining what he could to the devastated island.

Within a year of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake, Mr. Glynn established the Wings Over Haiti foundation, raising $100,000 to build its first school in a small town outside Port-au-Prince. Now, he’s looking to expand on the second school. The organization, now with nonprofit status, has held three benefits at the East Hampton Airport, in 2011, 2018 and 2019, raising money to build and expand educational facilities in the underserved and disconnected countryside of the nation.

And with this year’s benefit — slated for August 7 — that’s what Mr. Glynn said he is staying focused on: trying to serve children through schools.

“I think all we’re thinking about right now is getting attention for this benefit,” Mr. Glynn said. “And having a big successful fundraiser so the work that we’re doing can continue.”

The facility’s rural locations leave them and their communities disconnected and underserved by the Haitian government. With recent turmoil, Mr. Glynn noted how this has worked to their advantage.

“Our schools are in the most remote, depressed, deprived and impoverished areas in Haiti,” he argued. “It’s not, it’s not where they’re inciting riots — it’s not close to the capital.”

Magalie Theodore, of New York, has partnered with Mr. Glynn and Wings Over Haiti for years. Born in Haiti, she moved to the United States at age 6. She provided her family’s property in Haiti as a site for Wings Over Haiti’s second school campus.

“There [are] a lot of needs in Haiti, but we go to the most remote area to help,” Ms. Theodore said. “With this, it’s just going to be getting worse.”

Haiti’s current turmoil is a conflux of crises in leadership, natural disaster, and an anatomizing assassination.

The assassination, carried out by two dozen gunmen posing as U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency agents, occurred without much resistance as they broke into the president’s home and opened fire, according to Haitian authorities. A multinational investigation is currently underway to identify and find suspects, spanning locations including Colombia and Florida.

President Moïse, who took office in 2017, presided over a hollowing out of the nation’s democratic institutions as he increasingly centralized his hold on power. Only 10 of the nation’s 30 Senate seats are currently filled after Mr. Moïse did not call an election at the expiration of the senate’s term in January 2020; the president of the highest court died of COVID-19 in June; and there appears to be two conflicting constitutions, creating uncertainty over how to proceed after a president’s death.

Both the Biden and Trump Administrations continued in a historic pattern for the U.S. of appeasing authoritarian leaders in a tradeoff for stability — backing Mr. Moïse in spite of condemnation from Congress and concern among American officials, The New York Times reported on July 18.

“Every time we feel like we are moving forward … we take five steps backwards,” Ms. Theodore said.

Ted Morency, a volunteer for Wings Over Haiti’s benefit events, was born in Haiti before moving to the United States and attending the Ross School. The current rising senior at Cornell University visited Haiti with Mr. Glynn just before attending school. He described his visit as traumatic.

“My upbringing is like incredibly privileged in comparison to most people” he said, noting his educational background. “It was it was definitely hard on me, seeing the alternative — what my life could have been.”

Going into the benefit this year, Mr. Morency said he was excited to be volunteering again.

“The team really does a great job every single year,” he said. “Now, since I have a lot more on my plate during the school year, I just try to do as much as I can during those events.”

Wings Over Haiti’s schools provide not only an education, but meals and medical attention, organizers wrote in a press release for the event. Funds from this year’s event will go toward building their second school in Ranquitte, a commune in north Haiti.

In the press release Mr. Baldwin wrote that he was delighted to serve on the event’s committee.

“Haiti needs us all to help and to change that narrative,” he wrote. “I do believe the best way to do this is by educating Haiti’s children, the country’s future leaders.”