IMHO Youth Forum Presentation on Service

Importance of Service

Why?  We find ourselves at a critical time  We have the unique opportunity to draw upon our own ideas, resources, and motivations to the benefit of others  Need for the next generation of leadership with new ideas and passions

 There are estimated to be between 100 million and 150 million street children in the world, and this number is growing. Of those some 5-10% have run away from or been abandoned by their families.

 There are approximately 50 million uprooted people around the world— refugees who have sought safety in another country, and people displaced within their own country. Around half of these displaced people are children.

Around 80% of refugees are women and children.

 The majority of people flee their homes because of war. It is estimated that more than two million children were killed in conflict in the last decade. Another six million are believed to have been wounded and one million orphaned.

 Children in 87 countries live among 60 million land mines. As many as 10,000 per year continue to become victims of mines.

 AIDS has killed more than 3.8 million children and orphaned another 13 million. In the last five years HIV/AIDS has become the greatest threat to children, especially in countries ravaged by war. In the worst affected countries, it is estimated that as many as half of today’s 15year-olds will die from the disease.

 An estimated 45,000 households in Rwanda today are headed by children, 90 percent of them girls.

 An estimated 1.2 billion people worldwide survive on less than $1 per day. Half of them are children.

 Ten million children under the age of five die each year, the majority from preventable diseases and malnutrition.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.�

Critical Questions to Ask‌ 1. Why are children so vulnerable? What difficulties do they face when forced to deal with the realities of war, poverty, disease, disaster, or abuse?

2. What could you/we do to address some of these issues that children face? Are you passionate about any of these topics?

Education. Empowerment.

Entrepreneurship.

A global nonprofit organization based in Southern California, USA

Mission  Visions seeks to change patterns of inequality by supporting educational initiatives for youth affected by poverty and conflict.  Focus is on Leadership & Life Skills, IT, and English skills development.

About Visions  Volunteer organization, driven by young people  We work with underprivileged young people, teachers, and others in developing countries toward enabling them to become selfsufficient, leadership-oriented, healthy, and capable of participating in a global economy.  Visions has operated in Sri Lanka (since 2003), Kenya (since 2007), and India (since 2008).

Who is Visions?  Founded in 2003  Currently no staff  Board of Directors (5 members)  Over 85 international volunteers have spent time abroad with us (many local volunteers have joined us, as well)  Rely heavily on volunteers and on the goodwill of others, both locally and abroad

What We Do 60%

INDIRECT IMPLEMENTATION: Visions plays the role of

‘enabler’, working to implement various projects through local partners who direct and mange the projects themselves.

30%

DIRECT IMPLEMENTATION: In the projects that Visions direct

implements, we research, design, and implement the projects ourselves.

10%

AWARENESS RAISING/CAPACITY-BUILDING: An

important part of what Visions does is to educate others not only about the need for education and development globally, but also to provide opportunities for interested parties to take action themselves.

Visions Efforts 1. Visions Leadership Education Program *19 trainings held since 2003 across Sri Lanka, Kenya, & India *Over 1,200 direct beneficiaries and thousands more indirect beneficiaries *Leadership & Life Skills, Global & Local Issues 2. Kalagam Visions Learning Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka * Due to be complete mid-2010 3. Local Empowerment Efforts

Other Efforts  Placed 3 girls from Trincomalee, Sri Lanka on 3-year dance scholarship in Chennai—India (2003)  Donated funds to Student Leadership Committees in Batticaloa & Trincomalee and oversaw progress—Sri Lanka (2005)  Rebuilt Dilapidated Rural School in Keliyapura—Sri Lanka (2005)  Built & Developed Rural Community Center in Keliyapura—Sri Lanka (2006)  Gave scholarships to 10 boys at Hindu Board of Education Children’s Home in Jaffna—Sri Lanka (2007)  Implemented Effective English Teaching Program for English Teachers—Sri Lanka (2007)

Other Efforts, cont.  Donated Multimedia Room to Saiva Mangaiyar Vidyalayam in Colombo—Sri Lanka (2007)  Donated approx. 2,000 books to Saiva Mangaiyar Vidyalaym for youth in Colombo—Sri Lanka (2008)  Gave 1 Visions scholarship to Jaffna youth—Sri Lanka (2009)  Donated sound equipment to rural school in Theni—India (2009)  Donated approx. 1,300 books to Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development (CORD) for youth in Jaffna—Sri Lanka (2009)  Donated approx. 2,800 books to Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development (CORD) for youth in Northeast—Sri Lanka (2010)

Thank you for being here‌

www.VisionsForTheFuture.org