Mission

Leaders for change is a non-profit organisation which leverges the skills and knowledge of people who volunteer their time to mentor others in developing communities... Read our Mission >>

Paul Hopcraft

Our Story

I believe that our creator organises everything in a perfect and synchronistic path. It is when we allow ourselves to see this path that we find out that all the pieces of the puzzle are drawn together with the same plan... Read the Story >>

It's hard to imagine, but 120 million primary school age children in the world do not have access to education....

Now most of us have an education. We've always had access to education.....We believe education is a basic right. Many of the parents of the children where we work dont fully understand the value of education and therefore dont see the need for their kids to attend school.

That's why we created Leaders for Change. By volunteering your time and knowledge and interacting with the community, these parents begin to understand the importance of education can provide for their children. By sharing thoughts and ideas, trust is built, long standing friendships developed and these parents can see the obvious benefits of having an education.

Here, we'd like to introduce you to some of those people. They are very real, and they need our help. They didn't choose to be born into a village where they can't afford their kids to go to school.

We invite you as Leaders for Change to put yourself in their shoes, interact with their communities. Experience first hand the difference we can all make. Whatever profession you are in, you can become a Leader for Change and make a real and lasting difference to these people.

Now, make a decision to help. It's simple, all were looking for is for you to donate your time and skills.

I have always been a dreamer, and it was in 2001, as a result of my father's untimely death that I awakened and saw my path. Along that path, I began to discover so much more about myself, and in that year, I went with my father to a place called Living Valley in Queensland, Australia. It was here that I met a great man named Ian Castleman.

Ian always said to me our paths were meant to cross, and over the years, he has taught me about God and faith and following our heart. Ian moved to Kenya shortly after, and established an Orphanage. He was called by God, he said. I did not understand it at the time, but somehow I knew I was also being called. Through circumstance and Ian's colleagues, I then became involved with an orphanage and a school in Cebu, Philippines…my journey had begun!

My first visit changed my life. Realising that the majority of the world is in poverty and in the Western world we are consumed by materialistic wealth, I could feel I was being called on a mission greater then I could imagine. A mission which would mean sacrifices for me but one which I knew I somehow had to follow.

Understanding that education is the way to empower people, this then led to the vision and establishment of Leaders for Change, dedicated to sending individulals with skills to interact with like minded individuals in developing communities. Through this interaction, we are able to bring the parents together to talk about their jobs, the importance of education and to come up with ideas for much needed projects.

The Journey….
And so I find myself on a journey, a journey for the rest of my life, to bring people to the beautiful lands, to immerse themslves in the culture and at the same time make a lasting impact.

And along the way teach them and their families through school programs, so much more about health, life and living. To do this we will bring volunteers from all over the world to provide mentoring, education, health services and training.

Now I understand, that for everyone there is a plan and a path….And so my journey continues….

To my family and friends, I thank you.

Paul Hopcraft, Leaders for Change

Building Leaders

To help prepare promising leaders for the future, top companies are forcing their employees to take on new (global) risks. By Geoff Colvin, Fortune Magazine

For John Tolva, IBM's Chicago-based director of citizenship and technology, the value of his four-week assignment to Ghana last year really hit him during a game of Scrabble by candlelight.

He and teammates from India, Germany, Brazil, and other countries had agreed on an unorthodox rule: You could use any language you knew. "That's when I understood what a globally integrated enterprise looks like," he says.

He and the others were forced to ask "what connects us," since it obviously wasn't language or culture. The real connection, Tolva says, is "the values that IBM has instilled in us. It's a professional code that isn't written down -- but it's there."

The group of 10 was part of IBM's two-year-old Corporate Service Corps (CSC), which sends teams around the world to work with local organisations on local problems.

Tolva's group was helping create a program for promoting Ghanaian handicrafts globally. The job "stretched me in a way we all absolutely need," says Tolva, 37, who has since been promoted to his current executive-level job. "It gave us a shake in perspective." It also means that "there are now nine other people in the company I would trust with my life."

Developmental assignments like his are among the most important tools that great companies use to build leaders -- and that average companies rarely use at all.

The importance of such assignments and how they're being adapted to pay off in today's global economy are two of the strongest messages emerging from the research behind our new ranking of the world's Top Companies for Leaders.

Avid is Launched

The new Federal Government volunteer sending program – AVID – was launched by Foreign Minister Rudd at Parliament House. AVID (Australian Volunteers for International Development) consists of three major partners, Australian Volunteers International (AVI), the Australian Red Cross and a consortium lead by Austraining International. ABV is a member of the Consortium and as such maintains its thirty years of work through the AusAID contracts.

‘The Consortium will allow us to continue our ground breaking and professional work in skills exchange with developing countries’ said Michael Lynch, CEO of ABV. ‘We have always worked closely with Austraining International and we are excited to look for further opportunities to grow ABV through the relationship,’ he said.

Minister Rudd highlighted ABV’s exemplary work in his speech and pointed out the importance of volunteers to Australia’s overall overseas aid package.

AVID will have an overall branding that makes the Australian volunteer more recognizable, rather than as a member of one of the partners. The same level of assistance overseas will continue but the new program will allow Australians to volunteer for new countries in different regions. The May Federal Budget has also continued to increase the funds for development with a small increase in the AVID allocation.  

Doctors for Change.

The ratio of staff to patients in the clinics we support is daunting, with patients vastly outnumbering the caregivers, so the nurses and doctors always appreciate the help. By volunteering you can help with administrative and basic triage tasks so that nurses are more free to assist the doctor. Volunteers with prior healthcare experience or knowledge can assist in treatments, procedures and surgeries, depending on their background and skill level.

What will you be involved in?

These communities need medically-trained volunteers to help in community health centers and hospitals. By volunteering you may perform medical tasks depending on your skills and qualifications. For volunteers to practice as licensed doctors or nurses we must submit an application at least three months before their scheduled program in order for their accreditation to be processed by the Philippine Professional Regulatory Commission.

In addition, volunteers can also conduct workshops to train the people on hygiene, health care, reproductive health care, first-aid, and other health concerns. Volunteers may help set up clinics in public schools and train teachers and students to become effective health officers and clinic custodians. Only volunteers who are in their final year of study or who are professional doctors or nurses can participate in the Health Program.

Health volunteers will be asked to live and immerse themselves in the communities where they will conduct medical missions, especially in the rural placements. This is done to give the volunteers a more holistic appreciation of the people they wish to help, their economic activities, culture, values, issues and struggles. At some point in their programs, they will also be taken to both public and private hospitals for them to see the problems of the health sector in Bohol.

Register your Interest

Register your interest here and we will send you information on the upcoming programs.