2008: LDi Year in Review

  

This time of year causes one to think back over the past months. LDi has been blessed to be part of so many wonderful happenings in China, and we want to express gratitude to all those who have supported our work in some way.

 

•    The Sichuan Earthquake – While the earthquake is no longer in the news, it continues to be near our hearts. To date, $86,500 has been given to LDi for earthquake relief, including $9,600 designated for Coats for Kids.  1,118 coats and 120 quilts were distributed to children and the elderly with the Coats for Kids funds. This initiative will continue so if you would like to help purchase more coats for the children and quilts for the elderly impacted by the earthquake, we welcome your gifts.

 

Your gifts also helped establish Daybreak Summer Camps in seven locations serving 1,600 children between June 1 and August 1. Chinese and expatriate teachers from our International Schools of China and other volunteers staffed these camps. One of the parents said, “You take good care of our children so we can return to the fields and clean up.  We are grateful.”  We hope to conduct these camps again next summer. Forty adolescents from the earthquake zone attended a two-week English camp at LDi’s Quan Shi [Spring Rock] Experiential Education site near Tianjin.

 

LDi is working with Cypress Leadership Institute (CLI) on long-term rebuilding efforts. The construction of 50,000 light steel-frame homes, under the leadership of CLI, was approved by China's government. Teams from local groups will be trained to put up the structures. They will work with homeowners in building the infrastructure and completing the houses with local materials.  As someone said, “The result is good housing and good will!”  Other long-range projects are being planned.

 

We appreciate your generosity in response to the needs created by this disaster.  The deprivation caused by the earthquake is great; it will require vast sums of financial and human resources to help the region recover.

 

•    Cypress Leadership Institute – A year ago we celebrated the registration of CLI as a Chinese-led initiative focusing on building world-class Chinese leaders. CLI was a first responder to the earthquake in May, gathering resources throughout the Chinese community and ensuring that gathered funds were well used.  These efforts gave CLI a nationally recognized name and a respected reputation among the public and among government agencies.

 

In September, CLI Executive Director, Dr. Zhao Xiao attended the Stein am Rhein Symposium (STaRS) in Switzerland.  This conference invited 80 young (35-40 year-old) world-class leaders in business, science, politics and culture from thirty countries to discuss “2020 – Challenges and Choices”.  Dr. Zhao’s closing presentation climaxed the symposium with these four points:

                •    China is making a “come back”,

                •    China is floundering,

                •    China needs comprehensive transformation, and

                •    China must become “good”.

Zhao suggested that in order for China to be good (i.e., to have a positive influence on the world) she must be led by men and women of integrity – leaders personally committed to a strong moral code and the welfare of all mankind.

 

•    International Schools of China – Our six international schools are continuing to grow with an opening enrollment this year of more than 1,350 students.  The school in Tianjin outgrew its facility so the Pre-K and Kindergarten programs moved to another location establishing our first Early Childhood Center.

 

Local education initiatives are also growing. The Chinese Teacher Training Center (CTTC)  has its largest enrollment to date – 21 students.  We still need four sponsorships for the current class.  A scholarship for one teacher is $1,600.  If you would like to help support a teacher, please see the end of this letter for information on how to give.

 

All of last year’s CTTC students are employed in some kind of school initiative. Three of these teachers are helping a local group start a school in the south of China.  This team is committed to this location for 3-5 years to help make sure the school is well-established.  Plans are for a similar team to "seed" one or two new schools this coming fall.

 

We are grateful to the partners of LDi.  You are part of all we are asked to do in China.  You are part of giving coats to the children and quilts to the elderly in Sichuan Province and rebuilding crumbled homes.  You are part of sharing proven moral values with entrepreneurs and government officials and nurturing them as they grow.  You are part of bringing values-based education to modern China.

 

Gifts for the work of LDi can be sent to:

  

US:   Leadership Development International

          4405 Mall Boulevard, Suite 200  

          Union City, GA 30291-2071

 

Canada:  IBTAS              

                 34850 Gleneagles Place              

                 Abbotsford, BC V2S 7G5

NOTE: Please indicate the gift is for LDi.

 

To donate via Credit Card or EFT, please call our toll free number 866-436-0379 to provide the necessary information.