There are 8,342 miles (or 13,425 km) that separate Addis Ababa and Seattle.  It's hard to imagine starting a school system from where we are but there is an organization is doing just that!  The organization is called the International Leadership Academy of Ethiopia (ILAE).  Their mission? To build a school where the gifted children of the nation can reach their full leadership potential effecting change for future generations.   

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First entered in 2007 at the Global Society Entrepreneur Competition (GSEC) an annual event hosted by the Foster Business School of the University of Washington , their business  plan earned a place in the finals placing in the top 30 among 89 other submissions.  In 2008, ILAE continued building their supporters and incorporated additional marketing research into their plans. They also readjusted their financial projections and hired staff.  Last year, progress was made in building it's advisors, managing their operational budget, designing the curriculum framework and finalizing the site location.

Now in 2010, the realization of the dream nears with site  groundbreaking and the 1st matriculation of 9th grade students. Great job!

As a supporter of this organization, please watch this video and tell your friends about it.  Make the difference to the nation of Ethiopia!

INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP ACADEMY OF ETHIOPIA from Laurie Simons on Vimeo.

Do you want to see more? A longer video is on the ILAE's Facebook fanpage - http://bit.ly/c8ijrX

 I'll write more about the progress of ILAE in future posts.

Uly 

Additional links:

• International Leadership Academy of Ethiopia (ILAE) website - http://www.ilacademy.org/
• ILAE Facebook Fan Page - http://bit.ly/cYpURn
• Panoramic pictures of Addis Ababa -  http://www.addismap.com/panorama/
• UW Foster Business School GSEC- http://bit.ly/b4Gqao
• UW Daily (Aug 15, 2007) - http://dailyuw.com/2007/8/15/nonprofit-to-build-high-school-in-ethiopia/