EDUCATIONAL, HEALTH AND CULTURAL NEEDS

The mission of the International Trends and Services facet is to expand the global platform for programs designed and developed to service the educational, health and cultural needs of people of African descent throughout the world. All programmatic components of the facet are delivered through measurable and sustainable service delivery methods that reach women and their families.

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The foremost goal of the International Trends and Services facet is to provide opportunities for tangible service in other countries. Our "boots on the ground" approach provides for more personalized methods for assisting and improving the lives of women, children and men worldwide through long-term programs committed to empowerment and public policy leadership in advocating for social justice.

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THE LINKS, INCORPORATED DELEGATION TO LIBERIA AND GHANA

The Links, Incorporated is committed to expanding its global presence and will embark on a journey to Liberia and Ghana in February 2013. We look to broaden our International Trends and Services platform for programs designed to service the educational, health and cultural needs of people of African descent.

During our visit to Liberia and Ghana, we will demonstrate our commitment to enriching and sustaining the cultural and economic survival of people of African ancestry, through friendship and service.

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While spending 10 days in West Africa, members of The Links, Incorporated will:

• Visit Liberian schools adopted by The Links, Incorporated: School for the Blind, Ann Sandell School, and AME University

• Witness the dedication ceremony of The Links Maternal Waiting Home

• Explore the history and culture of African villages in Liberia and Ghana

• Walk through Kakum National Park in Accra, Ghana

• Tour historic landmarks

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SIGNATURE PROGRAM: Education Across the Miles

Since 1996, The Links, Incorporated has built, refurbished and furnished educational materials to over 60 schools in South Africa, successfully making a direct and significant impact on the lives of thousands of African students and families. Contact with these schools continues today as The Links, Incorporated positions itself to adopt four schools in Liberia, West Africa – the Todee School, AME University, the School for the Blind, and the Ann Sandell School. Through in-kind donations, monetary support, and the lending of professional expertise in curriculum and lesson plan development, we will aid in the reestablishment of the Liberian educational system which was decimated by many years of civil war.

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NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION (NGO) PROGRAM INITIATIVES

Model UN

The Links, Incorporated and its NGO representative to the United Nations, have worked diligently to produce a strong and cohesive plan to strengthen its work with the United Nations. The Model UN program engages grade school and college students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as well as other institutions of higher learning, to become informed and active citizens of this changing world.

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Students are invited to special events sponsored by The Links, Incorporated and are encouraged to become involved in international affairs by working with the United Nations. This program’s goal is to provide as many international experiences for our students as possible. Through the Model UN program, students are given the opportunity to research and discuss complex global issues such as the role of women in developing countries, apartheid, child labor and human development.

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Links International Foreign Affairs and Business Empowerment for Youth (LIFE) Program

The LIFE program is designed to expose minority high school students, grades 9-10, to career possibilities in foreign affairs and international business in an effort to close the race and gender divide in corporate and state department jobs, and Foreign Service appointments. Chapters of The Links, Incorporated partner with local high school, college and university faculty and administrators to implement a two-week program curriculum which includes site visits, guest speakers, webcasts and case studies on business and foreign service. The LIFE program curriculum is patterned after the successful Howard University Summer Enrichment program at the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center. LIFE program alumnae are able to apply to the Howard University Summer Enrichment program if they choose to continue their studies in international affairs. Each year, nearly 400 students participate in the program.

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Linking with Haiti - Women’s Survival Kits

The Links Incorporated provides outreach to women and girls in Haiti who were affected by the devastating 2010 earthquake through the distribution of Women’s Survival Kits. This initiative provides a direct and deliverable service to the Haitian community. With the supplies needed for personal hygiene and daily living still difficult to secure, this initiative aims to provide basic survival kits to women and girls in Haiti so they can preserve their dignity. Each kit assembled by members of The Links, Incorporated contains fundamental items, such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, soaps, and washcloths, that are too often taken for granted.

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SAFE MOTHERHOOD INITIATIVE: Maternal Waiting Home

For years, The Links, Incorporated has been a leader in providing service to people of African descent in the United States, the Bahamas, Haiti and Africa. The International Trends and Services facet looks to continue this tradition and expand the presence of The Links, Incorporated abroad with emphasis on safe motherhood programs. These programs address the issues of clean and safe deliveries, essential obstetric care, and preventable death and disability among mothers, expectant mothers and newborns.

In 2003, The Links, Incorporated partnered with the World Health Organization to reestablish the Uganda Ministry of Health’s Maama Kit program. Chapters raised and donated funds to support the assembly and distribution of clean birth kits in Uganda. Today, The Links, Incorporated transitions its focus to the most pressing needs of women and children in Liberia, which has one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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With the dire need for adequate maternal/child health care in Liberia, the International Trends and Services facet carries on its maternal/child health focus through the construction of a Maternal Waiting Home in rural Bong County.

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Maternal Waiting Homes allow pregnant women who live in remote areas, where medical facilities and trained medical professionals are not available, to come to a clean and safe environment in anticipation of their deliveries.

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The Maternal Waiting Home program in Liberia helps to alleviate the complications and health issues for mothers and newborns that are the result of deliveries not assisted by trained medical professionals. The Links, Incorporated will also provide postnatal Mama Kits containing essential items for mothers and newborns.