Ordinary people work toward extraordinary change
For 18 years, Joan and Rufus Darkortey have been out to prove that determined people don’t need wealth, power, or big-name donors to change the world.
Without corporate sponsors — and with just faith, grit and small donations from everyday people — the husband-and-wife team from Lilburn has built a nonprofit that’s lifting hundreds of Liberian children out of poverty through education and helping others in need from Africa to America.
“Ordinary people can do extraordinary things,” said Rufus Darkortey, co-founder and president of Liberia Economic Development Initiative (L.E.D.I.).
Founded in 2007 on the belief that education is the antidote to poverty in Liberia — one of the world’s poorest nations — L.E.D.I. has raised about $300,000, awarded 700 scholarships, and begun construction of Liberia’s first modern public library.
“We started with education because we knew that education is the bedrock of economic development,” said Joan Darkortey, the nonprofit’s co-founder, CEO and board chair.
The couple has never taken a salary from their nonprofit. Instead, they’ve often dipped into their own pockets — even covering the cost of renting a hotel ballroom for the annual gala and fundraiser in late October.
“There were moments where we could have walked away,” Rufus Darkortey said. “But then we look at the kids, the students, the mothers we’ve helped — and we know we were born for this.”
A shared mission born of hardship
Service, both say, is in their DNA — shaped by war, sacrifice and unshakable faith.
Joan Darkortey, born in Liberia and raised in DeKalb County, was the eldest child of parents who gave sacrificially to relatives and friends back home, even when money was tight.
“I saw early on what it meant to live for something beyond yourself,” she said. “Half of our income would go back to Liberia. It was just understood.”
Her parents arrived in the U.S. with degrees, dreams, and little else. Her mother studied at Emory University; her father came from the Netherlands as a scholar. When jobs proved scarce, they planned to return to Liberia — until the 1980 coup upended the country.
Atlanta became home. Joan Darkortey dreamed of attending Emory on scholarship. But when her financial aid was withdrawn over questions about her legal status, she worked her way through school instead. Her parents wiped out their 401(k)s trying to help.
“I worked at many jobs, just whatever I had to do to get by,” she said.
By the time she graduated with degrees in political science and religion, Liberia was still at war. Joan Darkortey — who had already volunteered with the Carter Center and the Red Cross — began advocating for African debt relief with the American Friends Service Committee.
At a strategy conference in New Jersey, she met Rufus Darkortey.
An economist, Rufus Darkortey had lived through horrors she’d only heard about. At 19, he lost his father and two siblings to the war. He escaped death more than once, walking hours to school on an empty stomach because he believed education was his only way out.
“The difference between me and the kids who fought the war was education,” Rufus Darkortey said. “If we’re serious about peace, we have to start there.”
The couple’s shared conviction became the foundation for their marriage — and for L.E.D.I., the nonprofit they launched in Georgia and Ohio three years after their wedding.
“I’ve always called myself ‘Joan the Difference Maker,’” Joan Darkortey said with a smile. “Wherever I am, I try to leave things better.”
Rufus Darkortey earned degrees in computer science and economics. He spent two decades in high-profile jobs in America and Africa. In the last 10 years, he worked with the African Development Bank, overseeing $35 billion in development projects. As the organization’s executive director, he represented 81 countries and oversaw The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Sudan.
Joan Darkortey, whose career has included work at CNN, Emory University and the Federal Reserve Bank in Ohio and Georgia, is now devoting full-time to L.E.D.I.
Building Liberia’s first modern library
Beyond scholarships, the Darkorteys’ nonprofit has:
- Delivered thousands of meals and birthing kits (some of the meals were delivered in conjunction with Fountain of Hope Ministries in Atlanta during the pandemic)
- Built a multipurpose community center
- Funded sports programs and small business training
But their most ambitious — and urgent — undertaking is the Liberia Modern Public Library, a first-of-its-kind learning hub in a nation where adult literacy hovers around 48%.
“This is more than a library,” Rufus Darkortey said. “It’s a university for the poor — a place where anyone can dream, learn, and build a future.”
The building will double as a technology and cultural center, with spaces for digital literacy, workforce training, entrepreneurship, and art — including a children’s wing, performing arts area, and recording studio.
Construction is paused due to a lack of funds. But the Darkorteys hope proceeds from the October fundraiser will put the project back on track — or perhaps catch the eye of a high-profile donor.
Joan Darkortey has her sights set on Oprah Winfrey and Dolly Parton, both known for their philanthropy and empathy for the poor.
“We just need that spark,” Joan Darkortey said. “We’re not done. We’ve only just begun.”
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MORE INFORMATION
To learn more about this nonprofit or donate to its efforts in Liberia, visit ledinow.org.
*Data on literacy comes from multiple sources, including the United Nations, which places the literacy rate, meaning the ability to read and write, at 48.3%, as of 2022. The World Bank estimates that Liberia remains one of the world’s poorest countries, with a per capita income of $712 in 2024.
