ECHO FOUNDATION - Key Persons
Abadir arrived to the Kolfe Orphanage in Addis Ababa at the age of 8. He'd lost his biological parents and had been living on the streets naked and neglected by extended family. He spent over a year in a TB hospital and had a very long recovery. As he grew up in the orphanage, he fortunately captured the tender heart of a loving caregiver. He was blessed to have had a consistent encourager throughout his time there. He attended the government's primary and secondary schools in Addis Ababa. He always focused on the future, despite the pain of his past, and remained positive as best he could. He was always a top student in his classes. After secondary school, he received his Bachelor's of Art in Sociology from Jimma University and continued his higher education, obtaining a Master's of Art in Social work from Addis Ababa University. Since his graduation, he worked in various government and non-government organizations, focusing on community development with vulnerable children, and as a social worker. His responsibilities included giving psychosocial support to at-risk, abandoned, and displaced children. He also developed a curriculum to better mentally equip and train the care givers. He also had the pleasure of working as a child reunification expert in the joint project of IOM while he was with UNICEF. His overall responsibility was managing and supervising the child-parent reunification process. As the other In-Country, Co-Director of The Echo Foundation, Inc., his experience in the social and psychological fields has been priceless. That can only be attributed to his personal experience as an orphan that never lost his hope or can-do attitude. Proving that his heart of empathy coupled with his education will always serve the children and organization tremendously.
Amy Braido is a proud mother of 5, a graduate of Northern Illinois University, and the Founder and President of The Echo Foundation, Inc. In today's world, she's a trailblazer for supporting vulnerable children, orphans, and supporting the development of psychosocial education programs in Ethiopia.
In tandem with her heart of philanthropy, she is also a multi-faceted leader, executive life coach, speaker, podcaster, and soon to be published author.
Adoption and caring for the fatherless has been in her heart since she was eight years old. Though she was fortunate enough to have biological children, she chose to continue to grow her family, adding two more sons through international adoption. Her journey to Ethiopia began. One son was legally adopted, the other had aged out of the system when they met, so she adopted him in her heart, her family financially and emotionally supported him, and he continued on to graduate college and obtain a master's degree.
Amy wanted to find a way to continue to give back to the world in a bigger way. She had a vision to serve and support the country, culture, and people that raised her sons before she was able to call them her own.
Eyerusalem Tesfay (Jeri) was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Jeri attended primary and secondary school in Addis Ababa and she received her Bachelor's of Science in Applied Psychology Degree from the University of Gondar.
Since graduation, she has worked in various organizations that worked with vulnerable children. In 2012, she founded the non-profit organization Care for Children's Life Association. She was the Executive Director and was responsible for the overall management of CCELA projects and maintaining regular liaison relations with donors and the Ethiopian Government. Her education and previous work background that focused on community collaboration, has also led her to hold various leadership roles within her community.
In August of 2016, she made the leap to join The Echo Foundation Inc.'s team as one of the In-Country Co-Directors and to share her non-profit expertise, as well as expand the psychosocial education curriculum she'd developed. Her work ethic and professionalism are outstanding, and her heart and compassion for the children cannot be surpassed. She has been an amazing gift to the foundation and so much of the success is attributed to her organizational skills and know how.