Paris Reidhead (May 30, 1919 - March 23, 1992) was a Christian missionary, teacher, writer, and advocate of economic development in impoverished nations.
In 1945, Reidhead took an assignment with the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM), surveying and analyzing indigenous languages in preparation for evangelistic and educational efforts near the Sudan-Ethiopia border.
While in New York, he drew on informational resources at the United Nations to pioneer a program through which government and private funds were used for economic development in the Third World.
His efforts to implement local programs on this model took him to mission fields in Africa, Asia, and South America.
Reidhead's involvement with the Sudanese also inspired him to seek a means to enable impoverished people in developing nations to help themselves and their families rise out of poverty.
[1] In 1985, he helped found Enterprise Development International (EDI), a nonprofit Christian faith-based organization that works in partnership with local Christian groups to transfer the necessary training and capital to help entrepreneurs start sustainable family businesses.