ILDI In Business

ILDI partners with local nonprofit organizations in order to increase the national base of creative, literate leaders capable of solving their nations' issues.  ILDI targets education as an area for program interventions due to the brain drain from the developing world to the developed world that our generation has experienced.  Traditionally, as an individual in the developing world became educated, that person often left their country of birth due to lack of economic opportunity.  ILDI's desire is to see this trend reversed - by providing quality educational programs in the context of business and medical programs.  ILDI provides not only the quality education but also the economic opportunity to remain in their nation.  In addition to supporting primary school initiatives, educational programs include:

• Functional literacy training within the context of microcredit and HIV Prevention services
• Human rights training within the context of business and medical training programs

As part of addressing the need for trained leaders, ILDI is launching the Institute for Community Development in South Africa (link to project page), with the first class to matriculate in 2008.  As a partnership with Thembalitsha Foundation, a local nonprofit organization in the Cape Town region, the Institute will provide a wide spectrum of training for leaders working in community development on the continent of Africa.  The program will run 4-6 months and will include classroom and internship components.  The goal of the Institute will be to equip African leaders, building the capacity of local organizations by offering training in key areas as follows:

• Program development, management and evaluation
• Implementing business development, microcredit and entrepreneurship training programs
• Providing education and literacy initiatives for adults and children
• Implementing HIV Prevention programs
• Starting community-based medical clinics and public health education campaigns
• Connecting with networks of resources and knowledge base for African nonprofits