In the past 2 weeks, LI has picked-up the support of Microsoft Nigeria as well as the Office of the First Lady of Bauchi State. Microsoft Nigeria is going to provide free software for all the computers LI is donating to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University and free ICT training to all who participate in LI's Leadership Development Program (LDP). The Office of the First Lady of Bauchi State is going to facilitate introductions to and discussions with high-profile members of the private sector and encourage them to invest in the student-projects that result from the LDP. This will give LI access to corporations that otherwise would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, to penetrate.
I was born and raised in Haiti, and I have seen the disastrous consequences of gross corruption and mismanagement. I have watched corrupt officials destroy the future of hundreds of thousands of my countrymen. Countless numbers of my peers have been broken down emotionally and mentally by a system steeped in cronyism and dishonesty and individuals possessed by an insatiable lust for power. The unrealized economic and social development in Haiti as a result of corruption is incalculable. This is why I believe Leadership Initiatives is needed to reach the younger generations and challenge them with the task of taking the developing countries in a new direction. Potential cannot be realized if it is not developed, and Leadership Initiatives works with young people to recognize and grow their own potential for themselves, their communities and their nations.
Leadership Initiatives is doing some amazing things. I hope that its efforts can be expanded and replicated in other countries in Africa and Latin America.
Leadership Initiatives would be very much welcomed in China. As the spirit of entrepreneurship is growing in China, I believe more and more young people would like the opportunity to help positively effect their communities while developing valuable leadership and management skills. This is a great program!
I love to see people helping people, but seeing young people build the capacities of other young people makes me so proud. Leadership Initiatives approach, methods and results are needed more throughout the world. Keep up the great work!
I have passed through the Leadership Initiatives' programs and I am product of its success. LI works and it has helped me to make a difference in my community. As an employee of LI, Antoine and LI have put their faith in my abilities, and over the next 6 months I will be working with Antoine and my colleague Khalifa to bring change to Bauchi. I believe in LI, its methods, its vision and its results. I am a Changemaker only because of LI's willingness to give me an opportunity. Changemakers, please support LI and help bring the opportunities that were afforded me to others throughout Nigeria, and, someday, the rest of Africa.
Leadership Initiatives truly represents hope and promise to the areas of the globe that require it most. They have established a proven training program to provide the young generations of the world with the tools they need to promote economic and social development. Because they are passionate and relentless in approaching thier vision, Leadership Initiatives will continue to create opportunities for young men and woman around the world without hesitation to any obstacles it may encounter.
When they're just out of college most people form bands, sports teams or lasting relationships. Instead Antoine and Marshall formed an NGO that really helps local people in Nigeria to affect change at the grassroots level. Its been going strong now for several years and I hope it keeps going. Though I actually would like to see Antoine and Marshall also form a band... LI Rocks
In 2006 Transparency International labeled Nigeria as one of the most corrupt nations in the world and stated that corruption was the primary obstacle to growth. Africa Economic Analysis stated that foreign aid led directly to increased corruption. The US has responded to these problems by tying 90% of its aid to the purchase of US goods, but this has also failed because it does not create skills for the communities it is trying to develop. In essence, the current system, at best, provides only one-time aid, since once it is gone the nation will no longer be able to afford the giving country's services, and, at worst, fuels the continued system of abuse within Nigeria.
LI is needed because it:
Attacks corruption where it is most vulnerable; the youth who have lived with corruption their entire lives but have yet to become a part of the system in which it is created.
Serves to develop students' entrepreneurial skills, utilized to create community-based businesses and NGOs that help develop a system of meritocracy.
Focuses Nigerian communities on the need to utilize existing local resources and transparent models for growth rather than concentrating on foreign aid.
I worked with these important people when LI first started, they have come so far and are such great people that I have no doubt they will change the world and someday all of our lives. I have nothing but the greatest respect for them and their work. Keep going LI, you are making an amazing difference.
I have been interning for LI for over a year now and these guys are the most honest hard working guys I know. If anyone can make a change in this world it is them. If you could see how hard they work and what they want to accomplish you would be amazed at what this world could be.
I have had the privilege to work with Leadership Initiatives since moving to DC. Its founders, Marshall and Antoine, are passionate about creating and maintaining social change in developing nations. Better yet, they are educators and mentors, ensuring that local students are not only inspired to form their own projects that will greatly assist their communities, but that these projects are self-sustainable for future students, and, hopefully, generations. The heart and soul of Marshall and Company have been invested in ensuring the success of Leadership Initiatives, and it is rare in DC to find a non-profit that so inspires young college students to join in the cause whether as interns or donors (Texas Hold'em anyone?) and become excited about fostering social change. LI's curriculum is created in conjunction with highly respected educators in the community, and their agenda is truly beneficent. I only wish LI had more funding to send more educators to developing countries to continue their exemplary work. As a social worker and ethicist, it has been wonderful to know that in some way I have contributed as part of a multidisciplinary team to the excellent goals of Leadership Initiatives.
My brother and Antoine work harder than anyone I know. Their determination is changing lives and this application should bring them the attention they so rightly deserve. If you haven't seen the video above, you need to as it displays just how powerful their message is.
These men will change the world. Look at what they have said, look at what they are doing. Do you see anyone else around who is as organized, as disciplined and determined as these men and women. They will change the world cause they won't let anyone stop them. Their mission is powerful, original and inspiring. Lets become a part of this change.
The reason I love LI is that it has a development model that recognizes that local leaders are the best to identify local problems, and create lasting solutions. LI facilitates this process in a way that nurtures leaders, establishes sustainable programs and unites the programs with available resources! Beyond the programs, LI creates opportunities that continue to grow exponentially with the empowerment and education of young leaders!
LI is a passionate organization whose hard work, efforts, and continued beliefs has and continues to provide opportunities promoting self-reliance, growth, and development. Keep up the GREAT WORK LI.
I have seen this organization grow and change over the last few years and it has gone from being an idea in Antoine and Marshall eye to something that is a force to be reckoned with. These men won't stop, have the ideas that can change the world and are by far the most resourceful people I know. They are smart, they never stop and they have plan. We are lucky to have them.
Antoine and Marshall are great guys and have inspired me to work with them. The most incredible thing about this organization is how it inspires others to work with them, how they build coalitions to further their great ideas and the seeds they have planted knowing that the fruit they will one day bare will change millions of lives. Every time I donate myself to them I am investing in this worlds future and know I will be getting huge returns from it.
This is an organization that promotes real change and not just superficial fix-its. Change must originate within a locality, and this organization helps local people to realize that they have the power and resources to affect change. Even one person can make a serious difference (as each of the volunteers devoting so much time and energy well knows). Leadership Initiatives does more than coach local people with skills and knowledge, it encourages them to think "I can make a difference," which is an attitude I sometimes fear is lost in more advantaged places.
The amazing thing about LI is that their development programs--which change so many lives for the better--are only one part of the larger point: creating new models for local leadership that are accountable, transparent, and self-sustaining.
The great thing about leadership initiatives is that they train local leaders to find solutions to their local problems- what they the locals think are important. Not someone elses agenda
As Justice Coordinator of the Justice Commission of the Consociates and Sisters of St. Joesph of Carondelet~St. Paul Province, I view Leadership Initiatives as an important organization that is helping countires to achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. Their work, as described on their website, definitely has contributed to progress of goals: 2 (achieving universal primary education), 3 (promote gender equality and empower women) 6 (combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases)and 8 (develop a global partnership for development).
This last goal (#8) is the one that I always look for in projects because I believe that collaboration is how we live and work in this global society of this century. Leadership Initiatives promotes this well through their leadership training of college students and people in the local areas in which they work and serve.
Without LI, relationships and development in selected areas of the global community would not exist. I extend my cheers, affirmation and kudos especially to Leadership Initiatives in Nigeria.
Joanne Tromiczak-Neid
Justice Coordinator
Justice Commission
Consociates & Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
1884 Randolph Avenue
St. Paul, MN. 55105
USA
Africa has vast resources, but until relatively recently most of the continent has been ruled by foreign powers. Because of this the people of Africa have been empoverished and stripped of leadership skills. That is why this initiative is so important. It places the knowledge and skills in the hands of the people who most want to help Africa-- the African people.
I think Leadership Initiatives is a great idea: fighting poverty from the community up. Marshall has identified a huge problem in Nigeria - a lack of leadership - and is training university students with the skills they'll need to solve problems that they themselves have faced. Very unique approach to community development.
Leadership Initiatives has come up with a very unique and powerful way of creating sustainable change in the communities in which it operates. They have found a way to get the next generation (the college students) of Nigerian citizens invloved in leadership, developement and problem solving. These are skills that will serve those entire communities in pivotal ways. Some of the programs created by the students have already become integral parts of schools and businesses in the local areas. Keep up the good work.
Leadership Initiatives is a great organization that is attempting to evoke and create change around the world. Their goal is a commendable one and deserves recognition.
I love this idea. It's based on the theory of "don't give them fish, give them a fishing pole." Ideas like this are great ways for countries to begin to become totally independent. It's the key to the future. I used to donate money all the time to charities who sent food. Although, this is still needed, it's only a band-aid to the actual problems. I hope this program flourishes and duplicates, and duplicates, and then duplicates again. Good luck.
Leadership Initiatives is an international NGO that helps students worldwide to turn their ideas and drive into locally sustainable community development projects. This organization focuses on how to help underdeveloped countries by using education. The young individuals in a society are the future of a country. Therefore, by addressing their needs and guiding them towards the right path, these students can eventually help the development of a country.
I'm tired of the American government talking about freedom and making the world safe for democracy by marching into a foreign country and imposing our own ideas. Obviously, that strategy doesn't work. Instead, sponsoring the citizens of a country so that they can make their cultural revolution has a better chance of success to change their world and build a better global community. LI trains the people who are in the best position to make a change in their world. It provides people who know the problem, the people, the matierals, and the culture with the tools to create something more than themselves. In turn these people inspire others and creates a community of people who feel like they can make a positive change in their world, instead of resigning themselves to the status quo.
I think very few people here in our country really realize on the limited opportunities and resources available in other remote countries. I think it is an amazing idea to identify students within the communities who have a clearer concept of the needs and struggles. I believe it is also a great way to start a chain reaction and motivate other local students to participate in this program and mentor others to share their knowledge. It is great to see that someone out there is acting on this matter.
When people are given an opportunity to own the change achieved in their communities, then something sustainable has been created. Leadership Initiatives seems to understand this basic principle, and the stories of Joshua and Khalifa are perfect proof of that. I hope L eadership initiatives continues to grow and empower more people and communities around the world.
Wow! That video was pretty amazing. These guys did not have much, but Leadership initiatives gave them an opportunity and look what they were able to produce. Developing countries are generally crippled by patronage, so to see these guys seize the opportunities presented to them proves that there is a wealth of untapped potential out there. We need more organizations like Leadership Initiatives to show the world the potential contained within marginalized populations. Keep up the good work!
It is great to see any enity that understands that sending big checks in the mail has little impact, if any, on the people who must live and work in their own area. Corruption and graft have been negated with this type of program. I am not one who will say "change" is always good. It depends on the direction the change is aimed. Helping people help themselves is the only way. In the United States, we have failed to learn that after pouring Trillions of dollars into the "war on poverety"the only thing accomplished was creating several genereations of people dependant on goverment checks with out the skills or most importantly the desire to help themselves. At first look, I feel that you have the right idea and goal. I am willing and happy to support you in any way I can. I would like to be updated on your progress.
Paul C. Slade
I am involved with Leadership Initiatives because it invests in the future of young people and that is my passion. Teaching young people to be independent, especially in a country like Nigeria, is a worthwhile investment. Secondly, I am particularly thrilled that the program is changing the lives of people who are otherwise less privileged
In my life I have come to learn that we cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own. I am to have been touched Leadership Initiatives and am happy to do anything I can to help them light the paths of others, their work is the most novel approach to development yet. It incorporates ideas that really do ask Nigerians not what Nigeria can do for them, but instead asks them what they can do for Nigeria. Changing their mindset with ideas never before introduced to their culture.
Leadership Initiatives is empowerment that turns the ideas and drive of university students in Nigeria into locally sustainable community development projects. I love the idea and it appears that LI has the tools necessary to achieve success.
This is a great program, but you know about that already.
Having been around when this was just an idea, I can say I am proud of your guys' results.
Such an effort to embrace & empower people in need all over the world is not only great, it is refreshing and humbling.
Please keep up the good work and may the true success of this project be yet to come.
Leadership Initiatives, in its dedication to real personal and social change, is the most impressive and passionate non-profit that I have seen in a long time. The LI approach recognizes that real change happens person by person, but also that each person can have a tremendous effect on the lives of everyone in a community. Each life has the power to illuminate other lives, and LI offers inspiration, tools, support and personal connection to help make that happen. Antoine and his colleagues have a rare combination of global vision, clear articulation of their goals, the daring to dream big dreams and the grit and perservance to make them happen. I've been honored to watch this dream develop and flourish.
Something that many of the more novelty organizations (perhaps inadvertantly) do is condescend, patronize the developing world by attempting to sell it, so to speak, through cultural generalization and picking on Western consumer guilt. One of the amazing concepts at work in the Leadership Initiatives program is its dedication to community-oriented empowerment. This allows people from specific localities to choose the course of their own development, doing so in a way that is most appropriate to the people such development affects. It's an incredible concept, and to see it in action and affecting real positive change is truly breathtaking. With the proper support, Leadership Initiatives will have a huge impact on both today's and tomorrow's world.
To quote another commenter, "The world needs Leadership Initiatives." Keep up the amazing work!
Leadership Initiatives enables Nigerians to educate Nigerians whose communities are struggling: the illiterate and drug-addicted youth in many areas now have a chance. I really appreciate and commend the work of the program staff; the training they provide in conjunction with the support of the mentors not only ensures the success of our programs but compels the students, to flourish as responsible and accountable leaders
This a unique idea to create substantial changes around the world. This is a program that has taken years to learn how to best involve a community to build upon itself. This is an institution whose idea, we all have a large stake in, an idea that will decide if we as world will push our influence upon others and tell them how they must live their lives or if we as a planet can offer help and assistance when needed while encouraging those we wish to help to develop their own ideas, their own infrastructure, their own world that can live in conjunction with ours. This is the idea of LI.
Growing up in WWII, there were a few things that most people forget that should be remembered today. When we were in the depression, President Roosevelt knew that he could not bring us out of this horrible predicament on his own. He knew that the only way to create sustainable change was to show Americans that they could help themselves. By creating a can do environment, by making an America that believed in themselves he allowed us to build upon our own infrastructure, he allowed Americans to build upon their own ingenuity. He only connected us with the resources we already had.
I firmly believe that this is what LI is doing for Nigeria and I hope to see it do, one day for the entire world. Show our brothers and sisters everywhere that we can build an environment where we can grow and build upon our own work and be the masters of our own destiny.
Leadership Initiatives has already done some wonderful things. Congratulations on your progress this far. It's amazing what these young people are capable of and at such a young age. Their projects are innovative and life-changing. I am in full support of what they do and can't wait to see what else comes of their work.
Leadership Initiatives has changed over the last five years. I have watched this institution change from a two man operation in Namibia to a large group working to define how Nigeria will change themselves in the coming years. Last time I spoke to Marshall about how he and Antoine were trying to define how many lives their projects were changing, so they could better quantify their work. I laughed at this because, an organization like this never stops changing lives. With how this organization works to build upon the achievements of others and of itself there will be people a hundred years from now whose lives will be forever changed by the actions LI has made and will continue to make. That is the nature of their project and why it is so vital to the world today.
My name is John and I just wanted to post the results of just one of the program I helped to create in the Philippines to show you how it can change lives called Real Growth.
Real Growth created a literacy center that successfully brought talented teachers and motivated students to the reading table. The renovated library procured hundreds of books, teaching materials, and valuable construction supplies from local schools, businesses, and government agencies. The education majors at the university who made up most of the volunteer teaching staff were very successful in implementing appropriate curricula for each reading level. The surrounding villages were so pleased with the project that they asked for the program to be held year-round.
This is just one example of how LI changes lives and how it can change Nigeria.
This is an organization that can inspire hope in this generation. They have learned from the accomplishments and the mistakes of previous organizations and are now charting the road to a better tomorrow by bringing young men and women together to change their nations from the ground up. This is a model institution of how a grassroots organization can bring substantial change to the world.
I have had the honor of working with Leadership Initiatives and watching it grow over the last few years. The amount of professional growth it has gone through is astounding. Every year it adapts to the new challenges presented to it. Adapting to the problems within communities and finding new ways for them to use their own resources to change their world. This is an organization that wants change and its mission and methods are some of the most powerful I have ever seen.
Comments
Hi Antoine! Its great to see your entry in the competition!
Dana Frasz
Changemakers
In the past 2 weeks, LI has picked-up the support of Microsoft Nigeria as well as the Office of the First Lady of Bauchi State. Microsoft Nigeria is going to provide free software for all the computers LI is donating to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University and free ICT training to all who participate in LI's Leadership Development Program (LDP). The Office of the First Lady of Bauchi State is going to facilitate introductions to and discussions with high-profile members of the private sector and encourage them to invest in the student-projects that result from the LDP. This will give LI access to corporations that otherwise would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, to penetrate.
I was born and raised in Haiti, and I have seen the disastrous consequences of gross corruption and mismanagement. I have watched corrupt officials destroy the future of hundreds of thousands of my countrymen. Countless numbers of my peers have been broken down emotionally and mentally by a system steeped in cronyism and dishonesty and individuals possessed by an insatiable lust for power. The unrealized economic and social development in Haiti as a result of corruption is incalculable. This is why I believe Leadership Initiatives is needed to reach the younger generations and challenge them with the task of taking the developing countries in a new direction. Potential cannot be realized if it is not developed, and Leadership Initiatives works with young people to recognize and grow their own potential for themselves, their communities and their nations.
Leadership Initiatives is doing some amazing things. I hope that its efforts can be expanded and replicated in other countries in Africa and Latin America.
Leadership Initiatives would be very much welcomed in China. As the spirit of entrepreneurship is growing in China, I believe more and more young people would like the opportunity to help positively effect their communities while developing valuable leadership and management skills. This is a great program!
This is very impressive! I applaud Leadership Initiatives and its focus on youth.
I love to see people helping people, but seeing young people build the capacities of other young people makes me so proud. Leadership Initiatives approach, methods and results are needed more throughout the world. Keep up the great work!
I have passed through the Leadership Initiatives' programs and I am product of its success. LI works and it has helped me to make a difference in my community. As an employee of LI, Antoine and LI have put their faith in my abilities, and over the next 6 months I will be working with Antoine and my colleague Khalifa to bring change to Bauchi. I believe in LI, its methods, its vision and its results. I am a Changemaker only because of LI's willingness to give me an opportunity. Changemakers, please support LI and help bring the opportunities that were afforded me to others throughout Nigeria, and, someday, the rest of Africa.
Leadership Initiatives truly represents hope and promise to the areas of the globe that require it most. They have established a proven training program to provide the young generations of the world with the tools they need to promote economic and social development. Because they are passionate and relentless in approaching thier vision, Leadership Initiatives will continue to create opportunities for young men and woman around the world without hesitation to any obstacles it may encounter.
When they're just out of college most people form bands, sports teams or lasting relationships. Instead Antoine and Marshall formed an NGO that really helps local people in Nigeria to affect change at the grassroots level. Its been going strong now for several years and I hope it keeps going. Though I actually would like to see Antoine and Marshall also form a band... LI Rocks
In 2006 Transparency International labeled Nigeria as one of the most corrupt nations in the world and stated that corruption was the primary obstacle to growth. Africa Economic Analysis stated that foreign aid led directly to increased corruption. The US has responded to these problems by tying 90% of its aid to the purchase of US goods, but this has also failed because it does not create skills for the communities it is trying to develop. In essence, the current system, at best, provides only one-time aid, since once it is gone the nation will no longer be able to afford the giving country's services, and, at worst, fuels the continued system of abuse within Nigeria.
LI is needed because it:
Attacks corruption where it is most vulnerable; the youth who have lived with corruption their entire lives but have yet to become a part of the system in which it is created.
Serves to develop students' entrepreneurial skills, utilized to create community-based businesses and NGOs that help develop a system of meritocracy.
Focuses Nigerian communities on the need to utilize existing local resources and transparent models for growth rather than concentrating on foreign aid.
I worked with these important people when LI first started, they have come so far and are such great people that I have no doubt they will change the world and someday all of our lives. I have nothing but the greatest respect for them and their work. Keep going LI, you are making an amazing difference.
I have been interning for LI for over a year now and these guys are the most honest hard working guys I know. If anyone can make a change in this world it is them. If you could see how hard they work and what they want to accomplish you would be amazed at what this world could be.
I have had the privilege to work with Leadership Initiatives since moving to DC. Its founders, Marshall and Antoine, are passionate about creating and maintaining social change in developing nations. Better yet, they are educators and mentors, ensuring that local students are not only inspired to form their own projects that will greatly assist their communities, but that these projects are self-sustainable for future students, and, hopefully, generations. The heart and soul of Marshall and Company have been invested in ensuring the success of Leadership Initiatives, and it is rare in DC to find a non-profit that so inspires young college students to join in the cause whether as interns or donors (Texas Hold'em anyone?) and become excited about fostering social change. LI's curriculum is created in conjunction with highly respected educators in the community, and their agenda is truly beneficent. I only wish LI had more funding to send more educators to developing countries to continue their exemplary work. As a social worker and ethicist, it has been wonderful to know that in some way I have contributed as part of a multidisciplinary team to the excellent goals of Leadership Initiatives.
My brother and Antoine work harder than anyone I know. Their determination is changing lives and this application should bring them the attention they so rightly deserve. If you haven't seen the video above, you need to as it displays just how powerful their message is.
These men will change the world. Look at what they have said, look at what they are doing. Do you see anyone else around who is as organized, as disciplined and determined as these men and women. They will change the world cause they won't let anyone stop them. Their mission is powerful, original and inspiring. Lets become a part of this change.
The reason I love LI is that it has a development model that recognizes that local leaders are the best to identify local problems, and create lasting solutions. LI facilitates this process in a way that nurtures leaders, establishes sustainable programs and unites the programs with available resources! Beyond the programs, LI creates opportunities that continue to grow exponentially with the empowerment and education of young leaders!
LI is a passionate organization whose hard work, efforts, and continued beliefs has and continues to provide opportunities promoting self-reliance, growth, and development. Keep up the GREAT WORK LI.
I have seen this organization grow and change over the last few years and it has gone from being an idea in Antoine and Marshall eye to something that is a force to be reckoned with. These men won't stop, have the ideas that can change the world and are by far the most resourceful people I know. They are smart, they never stop and they have plan. We are lucky to have them.
Antoine and Marshall are great guys and have inspired me to work with them. The most incredible thing about this organization is how it inspires others to work with them, how they build coalitions to further their great ideas and the seeds they have planted knowing that the fruit they will one day bare will change millions of lives. Every time I donate myself to them I am investing in this worlds future and know I will be getting huge returns from it.
This is an organization that promotes real change and not just superficial fix-its. Change must originate within a locality, and this organization helps local people to realize that they have the power and resources to affect change. Even one person can make a serious difference (as each of the volunteers devoting so much time and energy well knows). Leadership Initiatives does more than coach local people with skills and knowledge, it encourages them to think "I can make a difference," which is an attitude I sometimes fear is lost in more advantaged places.
The amazing thing about LI is that their development programs--which change so many lives for the better--are only one part of the larger point: creating new models for local leadership that are accountable, transparent, and self-sustaining.
The great thing about leadership initiatives is that they train local leaders to find solutions to their local problems- what they the locals think are important. Not someone elses agenda
As Justice Coordinator of the Justice Commission of the Consociates and Sisters of St. Joesph of Carondelet~St. Paul Province, I view Leadership Initiatives as an important organization that is helping countires to achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. Their work, as described on their website, definitely has contributed to progress of goals: 2 (achieving universal primary education), 3 (promote gender equality and empower women) 6 (combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases)and 8 (develop a global partnership for development).
This last goal (#8) is the one that I always look for in projects because I believe that collaboration is how we live and work in this global society of this century. Leadership Initiatives promotes this well through their leadership training of college students and people in the local areas in which they work and serve.
Without LI, relationships and development in selected areas of the global community would not exist. I extend my cheers, affirmation and kudos especially to Leadership Initiatives in Nigeria.
Joanne Tromiczak-Neid
Justice Coordinator
Justice Commission
Consociates & Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
1884 Randolph Avenue
St. Paul, MN. 55105
USA
Africa has vast resources, but until relatively recently most of the continent has been ruled by foreign powers. Because of this the people of Africa have been empoverished and stripped of leadership skills. That is why this initiative is so important. It places the knowledge and skills in the hands of the people who most want to help Africa-- the African people.
I think Leadership Initiatives is a great idea: fighting poverty from the community up. Marshall has identified a huge problem in Nigeria - a lack of leadership - and is training university students with the skills they'll need to solve problems that they themselves have faced. Very unique approach to community development.
Leadership Initiatives has come up with a very unique and powerful way of creating sustainable change in the communities in which it operates. They have found a way to get the next generation (the college students) of Nigerian citizens invloved in leadership, developement and problem solving. These are skills that will serve those entire communities in pivotal ways. Some of the programs created by the students have already become integral parts of schools and businesses in the local areas. Keep up the good work.
Leadership Initiatives is a great organization that is attempting to evoke and create change around the world. Their goal is a commendable one and deserves recognition.
I love this idea. It's based on the theory of "don't give them fish, give them a fishing pole." Ideas like this are great ways for countries to begin to become totally independent. It's the key to the future. I used to donate money all the time to charities who sent food. Although, this is still needed, it's only a band-aid to the actual problems. I hope this program flourishes and duplicates, and duplicates, and then duplicates again. Good luck.
Leadership Initiatives is an international NGO that helps students worldwide to turn their ideas and drive into locally sustainable community development projects. This organization focuses on how to help underdeveloped countries by using education. The young individuals in a society are the future of a country. Therefore, by addressing their needs and guiding them towards the right path, these students can eventually help the development of a country.
I'm tired of the American government talking about freedom and making the world safe for democracy by marching into a foreign country and imposing our own ideas. Obviously, that strategy doesn't work. Instead, sponsoring the citizens of a country so that they can make their cultural revolution has a better chance of success to change their world and build a better global community. LI trains the people who are in the best position to make a change in their world. It provides people who know the problem, the people, the matierals, and the culture with the tools to create something more than themselves. In turn these people inspire others and creates a community of people who feel like they can make a positive change in their world, instead of resigning themselves to the status quo.
I think very few people here in our country really realize on the limited opportunities and resources available in other remote countries. I think it is an amazing idea to identify students within the communities who have a clearer concept of the needs and struggles. I believe it is also a great way to start a chain reaction and motivate other local students to participate in this program and mentor others to share their knowledge. It is great to see that someone out there is acting on this matter.
When people are given an opportunity to own the change achieved in their communities, then something sustainable has been created. Leadership Initiatives seems to understand this basic principle, and the stories of Joshua and Khalifa are perfect proof of that. I hope L eadership initiatives continues to grow and empower more people and communities around the world.
Wow! That video was pretty amazing. These guys did not have much, but Leadership initiatives gave them an opportunity and look what they were able to produce. Developing countries are generally crippled by patronage, so to see these guys seize the opportunities presented to them proves that there is a wealth of untapped potential out there. We need more organizations like Leadership Initiatives to show the world the potential contained within marginalized populations. Keep up the good work!
It is great to see any enity that understands that sending big checks in the mail has little impact, if any, on the people who must live and work in their own area. Corruption and graft have been negated with this type of program. I am not one who will say "change" is always good. It depends on the direction the change is aimed. Helping people help themselves is the only way. In the United States, we have failed to learn that after pouring Trillions of dollars into the "war on poverety"the only thing accomplished was creating several genereations of people dependant on goverment checks with out the skills or most importantly the desire to help themselves. At first look, I feel that you have the right idea and goal. I am willing and happy to support you in any way I can. I would like to be updated on your progress.
Paul C. Slade
I am involved with Leadership Initiatives because it invests in the future of young people and that is my passion. Teaching young people to be independent, especially in a country like Nigeria, is a worthwhile investment. Secondly, I am particularly thrilled that the program is changing the lives of people who are otherwise less privileged
Leadership Initiatives is doing outstanding and important work. I applaud their efforts. Their goal is commendable and deserves recognition.
In my life I have come to learn that we cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own. I am to have been touched Leadership Initiatives and am happy to do anything I can to help them light the paths of others, their work is the most novel approach to development yet. It incorporates ideas that really do ask Nigerians not what Nigeria can do for them, but instead asks them what they can do for Nigeria. Changing their mindset with ideas never before introduced to their culture.
Leadership Initiatives is empowerment that turns the ideas and drive of university students in Nigeria into locally sustainable community development projects. I love the idea and it appears that LI has the tools necessary to achieve success.
This is a great program, but you know about that already.
Having been around when this was just an idea, I can say I am proud of your guys' results.
Such an effort to embrace & empower people in need all over the world is not only great, it is refreshing and humbling.
Please keep up the good work and may the true success of this project be yet to come.
Leadership Initiatives, in its dedication to real personal and social change, is the most impressive and passionate non-profit that I have seen in a long time. The LI approach recognizes that real change happens person by person, but also that each person can have a tremendous effect on the lives of everyone in a community. Each life has the power to illuminate other lives, and LI offers inspiration, tools, support and personal connection to help make that happen. Antoine and his colleagues have a rare combination of global vision, clear articulation of their goals, the daring to dream big dreams and the grit and perservance to make them happen. I've been honored to watch this dream develop and flourish.
Something that many of the more novelty organizations (perhaps inadvertantly) do is condescend, patronize the developing world by attempting to sell it, so to speak, through cultural generalization and picking on Western consumer guilt. One of the amazing concepts at work in the Leadership Initiatives program is its dedication to community-oriented empowerment. This allows people from specific localities to choose the course of their own development, doing so in a way that is most appropriate to the people such development affects. It's an incredible concept, and to see it in action and affecting real positive change is truly breathtaking. With the proper support, Leadership Initiatives will have a huge impact on both today's and tomorrow's world.
To quote another commenter, "The world needs Leadership Initiatives." Keep up the amazing work!
Leadership Initiatives enables Nigerians to educate Nigerians whose communities are struggling: the illiterate and drug-addicted youth in many areas now have a chance. I really appreciate and commend the work of the program staff; the training they provide in conjunction with the support of the mentors not only ensures the success of our programs but compels the students, to flourish as responsible and accountable leaders
This a unique idea to create substantial changes around the world. This is a program that has taken years to learn how to best involve a community to build upon itself. This is an institution whose idea, we all have a large stake in, an idea that will decide if we as world will push our influence upon others and tell them how they must live their lives or if we as a planet can offer help and assistance when needed while encouraging those we wish to help to develop their own ideas, their own infrastructure, their own world that can live in conjunction with ours. This is the idea of LI.
Growing up in WWII, there were a few things that most people forget that should be remembered today. When we were in the depression, President Roosevelt knew that he could not bring us out of this horrible predicament on his own. He knew that the only way to create sustainable change was to show Americans that they could help themselves. By creating a can do environment, by making an America that believed in themselves he allowed us to build upon our own infrastructure, he allowed Americans to build upon their own ingenuity. He only connected us with the resources we already had.
I firmly believe that this is what LI is doing for Nigeria and I hope to see it do, one day for the entire world. Show our brothers and sisters everywhere that we can build an environment where we can grow and build upon our own work and be the masters of our own destiny.
Leadership Initiatives has already done some wonderful things. Congratulations on your progress this far. It's amazing what these young people are capable of and at such a young age. Their projects are innovative and life-changing. I am in full support of what they do and can't wait to see what else comes of their work.
Leadership Initiatives has changed over the last five years. I have watched this institution change from a two man operation in Namibia to a large group working to define how Nigeria will change themselves in the coming years. Last time I spoke to Marshall about how he and Antoine were trying to define how many lives their projects were changing, so they could better quantify their work. I laughed at this because, an organization like this never stops changing lives. With how this organization works to build upon the achievements of others and of itself there will be people a hundred years from now whose lives will be forever changed by the actions LI has made and will continue to make. That is the nature of their project and why it is so vital to the world today.
My name is John and I just wanted to post the results of just one of the program I helped to create in the Philippines to show you how it can change lives called Real Growth.
Real Growth created a literacy center that successfully brought talented teachers and motivated students to the reading table. The renovated library procured hundreds of books, teaching materials, and valuable construction supplies from local schools, businesses, and government agencies. The education majors at the university who made up most of the volunteer teaching staff were very successful in implementing appropriate curricula for each reading level. The surrounding villages were so pleased with the project that they asked for the program to be held year-round.
This is just one example of how LI changes lives and how it can change Nigeria.
This is an organization that can inspire hope in this generation. They have learned from the accomplishments and the mistakes of previous organizations and are now charting the road to a better tomorrow by bringing young men and women together to change their nations from the ground up. This is a model institution of how a grassroots organization can bring substantial change to the world.
I have had the honor of working with Leadership Initiatives and watching it grow over the last few years. The amount of professional growth it has gone through is astounding. Every year it adapts to the new challenges presented to it. Adapting to the problems within communities and finding new ways for them to use their own resources to change their world. This is an organization that wants change and its mission and methods are some of the most powerful I have ever seen.
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