Link Community Development
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Link Community Development (LCD) is a partnership of international NGOs and separately registered charities in Ireland, Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, Malawi and South Africa, England & Wales and Scotland. LCD works on a grassroots level and its main focus is school improvement in Southern countries in partership with Ministries of Education. It works with all schools in target districts providing a variety of capacity building training, resources and support to schools, teachers, headteachers and district education staff. This includes specific literacy, numeracy and HIV/AIDS projects. The aim is to improve the quality of education in rural schools across sub-Saharan Africa so that children and their communities have better life opportunities.
LCD's secondary focus is to provide educational opportunities for Northern schools to get involved with schools in Africa to support school improvement and to inform and improve Northern education. LCD currently works with over 400 schools in the UK.
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[edit] General information
[edit] History
LCD was founded in 1989 as Link Africa by students of Cambridge University who actively supported Black Education in South Africa. Separate partnerships have been established in South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Scotland and Ireland between 1995 and 2007. LCD continues to expand and is now probably the leading specialist Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in district school interventions
[edit] Vision
LCD’s vision is a future where all children have access to free, quality education enabling them to flourish and fulfill their potential. LCD believes that education is a basic human right and fundamental to breaking the cycle of poverty.
[edit] Mission
LCD aims to improve the potential of disadvantaged people to gain meaningful employment by sharing and developing appropriate skills through education and training.
[edit] Programmes
Global Teachers Programme(ongoing): A professional development programme for experienced teachers and headteachers lasting 15 months. It includes:
- A five week summer placement on a school improvement project in Africa.
- Follow up work in the UK, using the learning from the placement.
- Comprehensive training and support before, during and after the placement.
Link Schools Programme (Ongoing): A programme that allows UK schools to set up and sustain meaningful partnerships with schools in Ghana, Malawi, South Africa and Uganda. LCD currently supports more than 800 partnerships. The activities and benefits range but generally include:
- Opportunity for teachers and pupils to share experiences and learn about real lives in Africa
- Ability to obtain first-hand substantial information about African countries
- Chance to develop global citizenship values, and decrease harmful stereotypes
- Opportunity to apply for an International Schools Award
[edit] Events and activities
Morocco/Prague Hitch 2007: This year 782 students hitch-hiked from the UK to Morocco (1600 miles) or to Prague (800 miles) during the Easter period. Each student pledged to raise at least £300 and so far the funds raised have totalled more than £300,000. The hitch is LCD’s biggest fundraising event.
Postcard Exchange: As part of the Link Schools Programme African and UK primary and secondary schools exchange thousands of postcards with a specified theme each year.
