WHO WE ARE
The Edeyo Team is a group of dedicated business, medical and educational professionals most of whom are of Haitian and/or African descent who all share the same passion to empower Haitian youth.
Unlike most other aid organizations, the Edeyo Foundation is staffed entirely with volunteers, keeping overhead expenses low. This means that 95 cents of every dollar we raise goes directly to helping the children of Haiti.
Our fundraising and organizational operations are based in New York City while the school we support is in Bel-Air, a “red zone” neighborhood in Port-au-Prince – defined by the international NGO community as out of bounds because of security concerns. But children live in Bel-Air and they need education. Providing it has become Edeyo’s core mission.
In 2005, the Bel-Air neighborhood of Haiti’s capital city Port-Au-Prince was ravaged by political violence and natural disasters.
The grim reality of life in this densely populated slum was painfully evident to Edeyo’s co-founders Unik Ernest and Michael Pradieu, when they visited the area in early 2007.
The two childhood friends from Port-Au-Prince vowed to do something to help. So at his birthday party that year, Unik, a premier event producer renowned worldwide, announced the formation of Edeyo, which means, “Help them” in Haitian Krèyol.
That November, Edeyo opened the Joyous Heart School with an enrollment of 88 students.
Today Edeyo is devoted to rebuilding the school, which was demolished in the January 2010 earthquake, and expanding enrollment in new and better facilities. Meanwhile, over 300 children are attending our crowded temporary schools.
Please help us continue our work by clicking on the donation page.
WATCH
Below, watch an interview with Unik Ernest, our founder, and other supporters of the Edeyo Foundation. Learn more about founders Unik Ernest, Michael Pradieu and our dedicated staff and board.