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FireFlyz | 35
was something very appealing to me. It is
a desire deep down, which I feel driven to
do; this is what I was born to do.
What triggered you to put the inspiration
into action?
I was living in Brazil at the time and was
feeling quite bored. I’ve had the idea
for quite some time and thought about
what was stopping me from doing it. I
couldn’t think of any reason, so I started
researching on the possibilities of actually
executing it.
Howdid you start?
I contacted the Director of UNICEF New
Zealand over four years ago. I told him
my idea and after a bit of convincing, he
decided to support me.
What were the challenges that you faced
in the initiation process?
The biggest question was: can it be done?
No project like this has ever been done
before. To get your head around it, it has
to be broken down into parts, otherwise it
can become overwhelming. I did a lot of
research and talked to a number of people
and decided it was worth pursuing.
Where did you make your first flight to
kick-start the project?
The first inflation was in December last
year at Balmoral School in Auckland, New
Zealand. And the first free-flight was soon
after, over my home city of Hamilton.
Andwhere have you been since?
I’ve travelled to Australia, Malaysia
and Philippines, and returned back to
Malaysia. I have been planning the next
stage while in Malaysia.
Do you have any memorable experience
to sharewith us?
In the early days of thinking about the
project, I went to a balloon festival over
Bogota in Colombia. They closed the
Bogota Airport for two hours to allow
about 20 balloons to fly over the city. I
landed in a very poor area, but the people
were so happy to see me and hundreds
of people came to look.
I don’t think anyone had seen a
balloon before and they treated me very
well. Mother’s were giving me their
babies to hold, I shook almost everyone’s
hand, I signed peoples’ shirts and lots of
photos were taken. This inspired me to
continue with the planning of the project
as I saw how much people loved the
balloon and how happy I made them,
just by landing there.
Which would you say is your favourite
destination so far?
My favourite destination during the
project so far is Lubao in the Philippines.
It is a very rural area and the people are
so genuine. I like real-world experiences
and getting off the beaten track rather
than packaged tours.
So what are your plans after
Malaysia?
I will be travelling to Thailand,
Cambodia and Laos over the
next couple of months. I will
do two months of commercial
flying in France in July and
August before coming back
and continuing through Asia.
I plan to reach Europe early
To contribute, visit
www.flyinghighforkids.com/donate
Also, follow the project at
www.flyinghighforkids.comor
www.facebook.com/flyinghighforkidsproject
next year. It’ll take me about four years
to complete my journey.
How can one do their part in contributing
to your cause?
The Flying High For Kids World Balloon
Project is completely self-funded
and not-for-profit. Donations are
much appreciated and a part of your
donation will go to UNICEF. The plan
is to breakeven with the rest of the
money going to UNICEF through private
donations and corporate partnerships.