Michael Belay, founder and CEO of H.A.P.P.Y., Inc. was born and raised in Ethiopia. When he was a child, government officials came into his village to kidnap the young boys and make them serve in the army. His father was shot by the government for trying to protect him. After serving in the military, he managed to escape to the US where he became a naturalized citizen and established his family and his career as a Public Safety Officer in California.

In 2000, Belay visited his birthplace of Tembien, Ethiopia. Witnessing the devastation and extreme poverty of the war-torn region, Belay decided to dedicate his life towards building a school where the children could have a safe and nurturing learning environment. And so, H.A.P.P.Y, Inc. was founded. Initially, Belay focused his efforts on celebrity contributions and received little help. After three years of disappointment, Belay took matters into his own hands. In 2004 Belay sold his own home in Corona, California and moved his family of three into a small apartment. He used the money from the sale of his home to finish construction of the school.

Since then, he has been receiving a little bit of help from generous individuals to keep the school going, with shipments of food and supplies, but there is so much more work to be done.

When Michael arrived in Tembien, the village had been recently ravaged by war. A helicopter that bombed the town had been shot down, and the children were using the wreckage as a playground. Belay built the school on the site and left the wreckage as a memorial to all the lives that were lost in the devastation.

The children now have a proper playground.