About Us

Gèrye Jwa was born from a simple but urgent reality: Children in Haiti are growing up in environments marked by uncertainty and toxic stress, yet the adults around them often lack the tools to support their well-being. For over 15 years, we’ve been working alongside communities to change that. We help parents, teachers, and educational leaders create environments where kids feel safe, loved, and joyful. That’s our commitment – building the mental, social, and emotional foundations that make learning and healthy development possible, even in the hardest circumstances.

Our journey began in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake. As Haiti faced unimaginable loss and thousands of families were displaced into tent cities around Port-au-Prince, members of our team partnered with the Playmaker Project, a nonprofit organization based in the United States dedicated to helping children heal through playful relationships.

Empowered with in-depth trauma response training, play based interventions, adapted play materials and our deep commitment to children’s well-being, we began organizing playgroups in camps and communities affected by the disaster. In those difficult spaces, we witnessed something powerful: joy could still exist. Play could still heal. Hope could still grow. That is where the name Gèrye Jwa (Joy Warriors) was born – a commitment to protecting the playful optimism and resilience of Haiti’s children.

On July 3rd 2011, we officially opened our office in Delmas and began building the foundation for a long-term, community-centered movement. To date, our team has trained and supported over 3,000 parents, 7,500 teachers collectively impacting more than 150,000 kids annually.