Jacob Lief
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jacob Lief was born in New York and grew up for a time in London England. In 1994 he travelled to South Africa with a delegation of teachers and students from around the world to observe the nation's first free elections. Jacob continued to pursue his interest in South Africa at the University of Pennsylvania under the guidance of Dr. Mary Frances Berry, Chairperson of the Commission on Civil Rights and a major figure in the Free South Africa movement. In his third year of University, Jacob returned to South Africa where he met Malizole Banks Gwaxula, a teacher and community leader living and working in the Port Elizabeth Townships [1].
In 1999, Jacob and Banks founded Ubuntu Education Fund, a nonprofit community-based organization that works with the people of Port Elizabeth to develop educational and health initiatives. Over the past eight years, Jacob has served as President of Ubuntu and worked to develop Ubuntu from a small fund supplying basic educational materials to an international development organization employing over 55 people in the township of Zwide. Ubuntu now reaches over 40,000 orphaned and vulnerable children and 13,000 adults.
Jacob has been acknowledged for the success of Ubuntu both within South Africa and internationally. He is the recent recipient of the Crystal Eagle Award [2] for outstanding service to humanity and the Douglass Dignitary Award for Exemplary Service to the Harlem Community [3]. He has been recognised at the World Economic Forum and in 2006 he was a finalist with Banks Gwaxula in the Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award [4]. Jacob also works to foster stronger ties between South Africa and the USA (Americas) and holds a seat as a Director on the Board of the South African Chamber of Commerce in America (SACCA).[5].
