Visions General Brochure 2009

• MISSION To educate, uplift, and empower disadvantaged youth and communities globally by providing academic and professional assistance through training in Leadership & Life Skills, English, and IT.

• DONATE Help us to change the lives of disadvantaged, deserving young people & teachers forever by giving the gift of education. Visions depends on YOUR donations! You can donate online on our website, or you can mail us a check. Please make checks out to “Visions Global Empowerment” and send to: Visions 1621 Barry Ave. #PH1 Los Angeles, CA 90025 U.S.A.

• ABOUT Visions is a nonprofit charitable organization (501(c)3 status pending) that works in Sri Lanka, India, & Kenya, which aims to educate and empower orphaned and disadvantaged youth. Visions hopes to train these young people on how to become community leaders, while creating awareness, leadership and a sense of global citizenship. We work with underprivileged young people, teachers, and others in developing countries towards enabling them to become self-sufficient, leadership-oriented, healthy, and capable of participating in a global economy.

• WHAT WE DO 60% INDIRECT IMPLEMENTATION Visions plays the role of ‘enabler’, working to support and implement various projects through local partners who direct and manage the projects themselves.

30% DIRECT IMPLEMENTATION In the projects that Visions directly implements, we research, design, and implement the projects ourselves.

10% AWARENESS RAISING/CAPACITY-BUILDING We educate others not only about Visions or the need for education and development globally, but also provide opportunities for interested parties to take action.

All donations to Visions will be retroactively tax-exempt, as our 501(c)(3) status was still pending at time of print. Our tax ID code is 26-3386678. We will send receipts for all donations received. Thank you for your compassion and generosity!

• CONTACT US If you would like to learn more about Visions or get involved with our organization, please feel free to contact us.

Gregory Buie, Visions Director greg@visionsforthefuture.org Meera Pathmarajah, CEO & Founder meera@visionsforthefuture.org www.visionsforthefuture.org www.visionseducation.blogspot.com “The true benefit of Success is not realized until is it Shared.”

A global nonprofit organization uplifting youth and communities through education

ViSi NS Education.Empowerment.Entrepreneurship

• VISIONS EFFORTS I. Leadership Education Program Throughout Sri Lanka, India, & Kenya Over the last 6 years, 12 Visions Leadership Trainings have been held across Sri Lanka, Kenya, & India, benefiting over 650 youth and teachers. These intensive trainings will remain a crucial pillar of the Visions organization as we grow. The new Visions Leadership Education Program is designed to train both youth and teachers in Leadership & Life Skills, Global & Local Issues, and Human Rights. By working directly with children’s homes & schools, participants are shown how to develop personal leadership and life skills to meet life’s many challenges.

Visions will also help participants to establish Student Leadership Committees (SLCs) & Teacher Leadership Committees (TLCs) designed to carry out activities and meet the needs of their respective schools and children’s homes throughout the year. This program will continue to be implemented with local and international volunteers and staff, with an anticipated 1,000+ youth and teachers benefiting directly from training in Sri Lanka in 2009 alone.

many ideas youth might pursue. The Visions team will work closely with children’s homes and schools in providing basic career guidance to youth and directing them towards opportunities that best suit their skills and needs. This project will be launched in early 2009.

III. Kalagam Visions Learning Centre (KVLC) Colombo, Sri Lanka The Kalagam Visions Learning Centre (KVLC) is a multi-storied building being constructed opposite Saiva Mangaiyar Vidyalayam, an all-girl school established in Colombo in 1932. The school, originally built for no more than 1500 students, now caters to over 2400, several hundred of whom are recent refugees from Sri Lanka’s Northeast. The KVLC will help compliment the existing education of students by freeing up classrooms and offering a more well-rounded school experience. The center will feature a computer lab, multimedia room, nursery, Visions office, halls for English & other training sessions, rooms for dance, art & other aesthetics, and more. This project is being done in partnership with Saiva Mangaiyar Kalagam and Operation USA, and is set to launch in 2009 after construction is completed.

IV. St. John’s Institute of Technology (SJIT) Jaffna & Colombo, Sri Lanka Designed to benefit the many talented and motivated youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly those from within the Northeast, the SJIT will establish a higher technical education institute and an employment incubation center to leverage growing software outsourcing opportunities in Sri Lanka. The primary institute will be established in Jaffna at the premises of a well-known local high school, St. Johns College of Jaffna. A secondary campus and incubation center will be established in Colombo. The SJIT is conceived of as a degreeawarding institution, and the course offerings and grading will be structured after the U.S. system. This project is being done in partnership with ITTPO, Manitha Neyam Trust, St. John’s Old Boys Association, and Operation USA, with Visions playing a supporting role. The SJIT is due to be developed and launched in 2009.

V. Projects in the Works Throughout Sri Lanka & India

II. Scholarship Program Throughout Sri Lanka & India Youth between the ages of 14-24, who have already benefited from Visions training and have shown extraordinary excellence, are encouraged to apply for a small scholarship or loan from Visions to do anything of their choosing that serves their future academic, professional, or personal goals. Ideas such as taking a computer or English course, attending a special conference, managing the costs of school- or work-related travel, starting a small business, etc. are just a few of the

Goals: The KVLC serves 3 main purposes: 1. It will reach out to children who have been displaced by war or poverty in the Northeast and others from disadvantaged backgrounds that can be brought in temporarily from outside of Colombo with the intent of providing all with an exceptional and well-rounded education.

2. It will provide opportunities for youth and teachers to benefit from training and development programs that will improve their skills and overall knowledge on a practical level.

3. It will serve the needs of the school by reducing overcrowding, empowering and training teachers, and providing much needed space and development of the school’s programs outside of the traditional classroom.

Visions currently is planning several efforts in Sri Lanka & India, which we hope to begin to implement in late 2009 or early 2010. These projects include an English Education Program and Computer Education Program targeted at orphaned and underprivileged youth from communities lacking adequate educational resources, training, and opportunities. Though still in the planning phases, Visions is ever mindful of the future and eager to do more.