True transformation begins with self and is a life long journey.  My passion for twenty years has been non-profit programming.  During this time I have witnessed the impact of quality and meaningful programming on individuals, families and communities. The investment in youth programming continues to unfold throughout the lifetime of the participating young people. 

With the multitude of social and fiscal challenges in the context of a changing environment, transformation for non-profits is mandatory for success. Innovation, collaboration and creative ways of working present exciting opportunities for non-profits.  As the economic crisis continues to take its toll, many foundations ask whether a wave of mergers and other partnerships could strengthen vulnerable nonprofits. The answer is, quite definitely, “it depends.” Many factors go into partnership decisions. In the case of a merger, for example, the most important of these factors are mission compatibility, executive leadership, and the strength of the proposed business model.(Piana, 2010).

Today’s social issues increase the need for globally strategic innovative partnerships to provide services for communities in need. Strategic partnerships that bring diverse skill, experience, cultural, and generational organizations together to address a social issue can create transformational growth and change for communities.

The transformation for some young people in Queens, New York occurred over 15 years ago as members of the youth group Positive Youth Connection of the South East Queens Community Partnership (SEQCP).  The members of the board of directors for SEQCP were the civic association presidents from the communities of Rosedale, Queens Village, Cambria Heights, Laurelton and Springfield Gardens.  SEQCP partnered with the local police precincts, Queens District Attorney’s office, Community School Board 29, Community Board 13, churches, community leaders and other non-profits to focus on the issue of drug and alcohol abuse prevention.  As Youth Director my responsibilities included organizing and training teenagers with a focus on drug and alcohol abuse prevention.  For five years from 1992 to 1997, the leadership training of 20-30 teenagers was conducted using events planning and management.  The youth group was organized with a Chairperson, Co-Chairperson, Secretary and community liaisons.  Team meetings were twice a week focusing on group issues, planning events and discussing the historical connection to current events.

Positive Youth Connection’s (PYC) mission was to empower young people to be responsible for themselves, their families and their community.  Today many of the members of this group are still actively involved in their communities as parents, founders of organizations, educators, entrepreneurs, medical professionals, and business professionals.  The friendships that developed during their teen years continue today.  In this article I would like to share the developing partnership between two graduate members of PYC and their respective organizations.

The Edeyo Foundation (EDEYO), a non-profit based in New York with a school in Haiti, The Joyous Heart School that was destroyed by the earthquake and Rhythm N’ Dance (RnD) an organization working on obtaining their 501 C (3) focused on preserving the cultures of the African Diaspora through arts education for youth and aspiring artists. The Executive Director of EDEYO, Doris Pradieu and Kevin McIntosh the Founder and Executive Director for Rhythm N’ Dance worked together as members of PYC.  Last year, Doris Pradieu and Kevin McIntosh met to discuss Rhythm N’ Dance coming to Haiti to provide dance and drumming classes to the students of EDEYO’s school in Bel-Air, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, The Joyous Heart School.

The Partnership Organizations:          

Mission:            The Edeyo Foundation is an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the future of children in Haiti through education, supplying students with learning materials, and providing them with nutritional support.

http://edeyo.org/

 Mission:           Rhythm N’ Dance seeks to preserve the African diaspora culture through arts education for youth and aspiring artists.

http://rhythmndance.com/

The Edeyo Foundation, whose name is derived from the Haitian Krèyol word meaning “help them,” is managed mainly by business, medical and educational professionals of Haitian and/or African descent.  Their goal is to provide a safe, nurturing school environment, along with technology-assisted and other learning materials, nutritional and social support, and the linguistic and critical thinking skills that will ensure future success for their students at The Joyous Heart School. EDEYO first established a school in Bel-Air – a “red-zone” area which international NGOs avoid due to security concerns – in 2007; this school was completely destroyed in the earthquake of January 2010.  EDEYO’s goal is now to turn catastrophe to opportunity by building a high-quality, innovative, and sustainable community school for Bel-Air children, who live in one of the most underprivileged parts of Haiti’s impoverished capital city. (The Edeyo Foundation, 2010)

EDEYO aims to provide a first-rate, adequately resourced education to approximately 300 students. At the heart of EDEYO’s mission is the need to educate a new generation of Haitians who are proficient in multiple languages including English; flexible and creative critical thinkers and problem solvers; internationally aware, while proud of their own heritage; adept in technology; successful in the intellectual and interpersonal skills necessary for future success; and committed to the continued regeneration of their community. Second, and more immediately, our students will also need to be equipped to pass the Haitian national exam (given after eight years of schooling).  (The Edeyo Foundation, 2010)

In speaking with Ms. Pradieu she shared her frustration regarding obstacles to obtaining funding.  “Haiti is considered a business for most NGOs.  They do not see it as a country full of life and hope. We are considered to be in the UN “red zone”, therefore we cannot ask or receive aid from other NGOs and the UN in Haiti because they feel they cannot get success stories in those areas.”

For the 2010-2011 school year, EDEYO has rented a small building and built another very basic one-story building on the same street. Both are located on small plots EDEYO rents under long-term leases. These schools, however, are on lots that are too small for their rebuilding plans. Many titles to property were lost in the earthquake and properly title land in Bel-Air is scarce and expensive.  EDEYO hired a real estate agent to locate properties and a lawyer to verify the properly titled properties that can be purchased.  (The Edeyo Foundation, 2010)

EDEYO is transforming the disaster of the earthquake into an opportunity to build a new school with 20 classrooms, administrative space, a multipurpose room to be used as a cafeteria, a performance space and a community meeting space, a computer lab that after hours can serve as an Internet café and a medical clinic. (The Edeyo Foundation, 2010)

EDEYO is focused on building a green school working with Architects for Humanity to design a school that can function independently of city provided services, which are not available in Bel-Air. So their new school will feature solar power and a biofuel generator, a water catchment and filtration system and composting toilets. Their plan for a garden on the premises will provide vegetables for the children’s lunch and a small poultry enclosure to provide eggs. These can simultaneously function as science teaching sites and provide jobs for a few EDEYO parents. The estimated cost for the school is $1,000 per child for a total of about $300,000.

EDEYO currently employs 9 dedicated and hardworking Haitian teachers and 3 teacher aides. Once the new building is completed, staff will increase to include partner teachers, ideally Haitian-Americans with U.S. training, so that The Joyous Heart School can transition to a U.S. type methodology and lower their student-to-teacher ratio. (The Edeyo Foundation, 2010)

  EDEYO sees the arts as a healing force for their students who continue to live in extreme hardship and poverty. The vision RnD has for this collaborative project is to help facilitate cultural education awareness with the students of The Joyous Heart School by teaching them the importance of acknowledging that they are part of the greater global African Diaspora.  RnD will do this through programming focused on the common ideology of self appreciation, cross-cultural awareness, cultural identity and social responsibility through rhythm and dance.  By working with EDEYO, RnD seeks to assist the students in creating art that records this historic time in Haiti and to preserve that artwork.

Working with and through networks is not new.  The traditional concept of networks includes coalitions, alliances, partnerships, learning communities and various other collections of individuals and organizations working toward a common goal. (Heather Gowdy, 2009)  

Current Partnership Status

            At this point, the project is in phase one, Initiation/Requirements/Assessment.  RnD’s one week visit in February was successful. The team from RnD met the students, faculty and parents through interactive dance and drumming workshops.  Relationships are important to build in order for this work to be effective. RnD facilitated African Dance instruction to the students.  During this visit the children were very responsive to the dance lessons.  This photo is of the dance lesson conducted in the recreation area in the street by the school. “After the tarp was laid out, the kids ran out and it was time to do it! I’ll let the picture speak, but EVERYONE enjoyed the class. The kids, the teachers, the school administrator, the EDEYO co-founder, the parents, the neighbors and the police ALL loved it!”, Kevin McIntosh, Founder/Executive Director of RnD.

This initial visit was important because RnD team members learned about the culture of the drum and dance in Haiti.  Their time in Bel-Air also enabled them to meet community leaders and parents. This project brings individuals together from different backgrounds, experiences, cultures, languages, political and social realities to work on a common goal.  It will be important to establish measurable goals and objectives throughout the life of this project.  Additional organizations will join the team as we progress. 

CONCLUSION:

The Non Profit Convergence Report states that the future will bring a wider array of structural options and a greater willingness to experiment, as well as a heightened demand for accountability and compelling measures of social value. The driving question will be, “What do we want to accomplish?” Successful organizations will quickly move beyond traditional assumptions about how those goals are attempted and think creatively about structural forms, recognizing that different goals demand new solutions. (Heather Gowdy, 2009)

William Pinakiewicz, New England director of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, which provides financial and advisory services to Massachusetts nonprofits said nonprofits that use the downturn as an opportunity to assess their mission focus and economic effectiveness of their businesses models and make strategic adjustments, on their own or in collaboration with other nonprofits and funders, are likely to flourish in 2010 and beyond. (massnonprofit.org, 2010)

In conclusion the necessity for the work of EDEYO and the RnD partnership is best justified by the students from The Joyous Heart School:

 Bibliography

Heather Gowdy, A. H. (2009, November). http://www.lapiana.org/nonprofitnext/tag/james-irvine-foundation/. Retrieved November 20, 2010, from NonProftNext: http://www.lapiana.org/downloads/Convergence_Report_2009.pdf

massnonprofit.org. (2010, January 1). http://www.massnonprofit.org/news.php?artid=1778&catid=13. Retrieved November 30, 2010, from http://www.massnonprofit.org: http://www.massnonprofit.org/news.php?artid=1778&catid=13

Piana, D. L. (2010, Spring). Merging Wisely. Retrieved November 20, 2010, from www.ssireview.com: http://www.ssireview.com

The Edeyo Foundation. (2010). http://edeyo.org/projects. Retrieved December 1, 2010, from http://edeyo.org/: http://edeyo.org/