Gyedi Project

The Gyedi Project, founded by Kweku Hazel, MD, and Cynthia Hazel, DrPH, MSc, is a grassroots community organization centered in Aurora, Colorado, aimed at empowering minority and underserved communities to tackle health inequities and improve community well-being. The Gyedi Project is focused on Black, Latine, immigrant, and refugee communities in the Denver Metro area. 

“Gyedi” (pronounced 'jee-di') is a Ghanaian Akan word that means "trust" or “believe”. It is also a noun that translates to “self-belief”. The concept of gyedi is fundamental to seeing self as the biggest asset for healthy living, with the goal of taking full control to overcome any obstacles towards cultivating healthy behaviors. We leverage the concept of gyedi as well as values of shared humanity such as “ubuntu” (which means ‘I am, because we are’), to build individual ownership of community health, increasing awareness about the importance of supporting one other on our individual and collective journeys to achieving better health. We emphasize the importance of gathering and sharing accurate and beneficial health knowledge that can better prepare the community to address ongoing health challenges and emerging health threats. 

The project prioritizes community and sub-community engagement, health education outreach, and health professional trainings to improve access to health services that increase health equity among underserved communities.