Last Thanksgiving, Coral Gables High senior Jose Puig went on a mission trip to Ile-a-Vache with the non-profit Fly High for Haiti.
“It runs a school. It raises funds for the school and infrastructure,” Puig said. “It makes sure some of the kids can be afford the luxury of an education.”
The non-profit also runs one of the island’s agriculture fields and an orphanage with handicapped kids.
“I’ve never seen poverty like that,” he said. “
The trip was a pivotal time for him. The poverty shocked him, but he learned that he can help.
“I guess, at the end of the day, there is always something you can do, something you can help with,” he said. “I’ve been able to help out in a number of ways.”
Raising money is one of the ways Puig was able to help.
“We approached a company called Areas — they have stores at the turnpike,” he said. “We presented to them. For every two water bottles sold, we get 10 cents. They own the restaurants and the retail stores.”
The fundraiser generated approximately $20,000.
Puig also is concerned about the environment. He’ is on the board of the school’s ecology club, Gables Earth.
“We do beach cleanups,” he said. “We went to this woman’s farm, an organic farm and helped her out. Basically, some dirty work.”
Puig is in student government. He has been the Class of 2017 treasurer and this year he is vice president. He’s a member of Mu Alpha Theta; member of the National Honor Society, and treasurer of SECME, a science, engineering, communications, math and enrichment club.
“We go to competitions. One of them is an egg drop competition,” he said. “We perform in groups of two or four. We make a box with a parachute and see which one will support the egg better.”
He is a member of the Gables soccer team and he also plays club soccer for the Coral Gables Toros.
— Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
