Our History
July, 2004
ILDI founded in response to the many
opportunities in international Development.
ILDI was founded by several like-minded individuals, including those who still serve in managerial and directorial positions in the organization. ILDI was established in order to provide an outlet for leadership training and development in nations where such ideas were desperately lacking.
2005
ILDI's first projects were started in the nation of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is a nation which continues to need significant rebuilding of its leadership base due to the extended conflict that nation experienced in the 1990's. ILDI's programs in Sierra Leone started with a local medical clinic serving the community in the nation's second largest city, Bo. New Harvest Medical Center, operated in partnership with New Harvest Development Office, provides free preventive care, reduced cost dental and medical procedures and obstetrical services.
2006
- ILDI helps New Harvest Medical Center expand to offering mobile health clinics in five villages per month.
- ILDI sends two business teams to provide targeted training for local business and community leaders in ethics, character and leadership and basic management.
- ILDI sends a medical team to assist with mobile clinic outreaches and provide targeted training for staff of New Harvest Medical Center.
The heart of ILDI is to serve nations, such as Sierra Leone. We seek to provide the rudimentary building blocks of a strong society through imparting the ideals of ethical, capable and prepared leadership to a growing future middle class.
2007
- ILDI and New Harvest Development Office to offer microcredit program in six urban and rural locations in Sierra Leone
- ILDI and New Harvest Medical Center to expand mobile clinic services to 20 remote villages per month (from 5).
- ILDI and a local South African non-profit prepare to launch a school for community development training in the Cape Town region in 2008.
- ILDI's programs seek to model sustainable development theories by training local leaders to address the issues of their communities.
New technology and skills training programs are urgently needed in order to "jump-start" local nonprofits' capability to expand their projects and services and effectively meet the complicated needs of their communities. Many developing nations not only lack a sizeable leadership base, but also the means of obtaining that base: successful indigenous training programs.
The problems of the poor nations of the world are too significant to wait the years or decades necessary for "on-the-job training" to have its affect. As a result, ILDI is launching the Institute for Community Development in South Africa in partnership with a local South African nonprofit organization to provide concentrated training for local nonprofit leaders in planning, implementing and evaluating community development programs.
