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 Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

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 , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

who actively supported Black Education in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. 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) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

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. Nomads hav ...

event. It occurred every

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

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

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

being added in 2003. This second destination was changed to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

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