Link Community Development International (Link) is an international NGO working to improve the quality of education in Africa. Since 1992 the organization has positively impacted the lives of 1.7 million children in over 3,000 schools in Ghana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Uganda, and South Africa. Link works at all levels of the education system to unlock local solutions to school improvement. In partnership with Ministries of Education, District Departments of Education, schools, and communities they work 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 The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

projects. Link's vision is a world where all children have access to quality education. Link has created a School Performance Review process that supports school districts to collect and analyse school performance data, then share this information with schools and communities to enable a grassroots, collaborative school improvement planning process.

History

Link was founded in 1989 as Link Africa by students of

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

who actively supported Black Education in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Due to the educational departments restructuring after the end of apartheid in 1994, Link shifted its focus from placement work to government; aiming to support the new integrated Department of Education. During this time Link Africa became Link Community Development. Link continues to expand and is now a leading specialist

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

in whole district school interventions. The Most Revd

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

is the Patron of Link.

Vision

Link’s vision is a world where every child has the right to quality education.

Mission

Link's mission is to inspire sustainable innovations in national education policy using grassroots approaches to improve accountability and learner outcomes.

Morocco/Croatia Hitch

Th
Morocco/Croatia Hitch
was Link’s biggest fundraiser and the world's largest organised

hitchhiking Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Signaling ...

event. It occurred every

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

holiday with students from universities across the UK taking part. It began in 1992, with

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

being added in 2003. This second destination was changed to

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

for the 2012 event. More than 8,500 people have taken part in the Hitch since it started, raising at least £4.5million. The final Hitch took place in 2016.

References

{{Authority control Educational organisations based in Ethiopia Educational organisations based in Malawi Educational organisations based in Uganda