Visions Scholarship Program Relaunched!

Visions is very pleased to announce that the Visions Scholarship Program has been officially restarted. In February 2009, the first of the new scholarship recipients has been identified. A former Visions student from Jaffna, Anantharosa is a very deserving young man in need of assistance to pursue his career goals. We first came to know Anantharosa in 2004 when Visions held its second ever camp at the children's home where he was staying. Visions Director Greg Buie was able to meet with Anantharosa last month in Colombo to discuss the details of his scholarship. We believe this is just the start of a much larger program we are committed to in order to support other young people just like him. We wish him all the best!

New Visions Leadership Education Program Launched: 13th & 14th Visions Leadership Trainings

After much work went into further developing and refining the Visions Leadership Education Program curriculum, our new materials were put to the test this last month in Sri Lanka. Two more Visions trainings were held in Colombo this January/February at Saiva Mangaiyar Vidyalayam (Hindu Ladies College), the school with which Visions is partnering on the Kalagam Visions Learning Centre project. 50 young women and 26 teachers benefitted from an intense training program designed to develop personal leadership skills, encourage critical thinking and questioning, teach generally about human rights and past influential leaders, and look analytically at the major issues shaping our world today. Visions has now directly trained over 725 individuals across 3 countries! Overall, theses trainings were an incredibly successful start to our newly revamped leadership training program. Valuable feedback was obtained from the participants in order to continue to better this program, but all who joined us were grateful for the opportunity.


Prior to departure, Visions put together teacher supply kits for all teachers participating in the leadership training. In addition to the general training, teachers were shown various creative teaching techniques and activities that they can employ in the classroom at little or no cost. To get them started on a few of those which require some basic supplies, each teacher was given a supply kit, as well as other basic classroom resources. All participants, both students and teachers, are always able to keep the Visions Leadership Handbooks we put together. These written materials have now been divided into 3 separate books (all of which the participants may keep): Guide to Leadership & Life Skills, Guide to Human Rights & Citizenship, and Guide to Global and Local Issues.


Here are some photos from the teachers training:

School Book Drive Collects 7,800+ Books for Schools & Libraries

Last week, students at Esperanza High School in Anaheim, California held a book drive for Visions and collected over 7,800 books! It was an exceptional effort organized by ASB student leaders, Yvonne & Mignotae, and supported by the entire school. Approximately 2,300 culturally-appropriate academic textbooks, children's books, fiction and nonfiction works, and other books were sorted and will be shipped to local schools in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The remaining 5,500 books were donated to four grateful local libraries in Placentia, Anaheim, Orange, and Yorba Linda, California. Thank you to all who supported this fantastic effort. The books being shipped to Sri Lanka will serve Visions youth for many years to come.

It took Visions staff 3 days to sort through the thousands of books, which will be shipped to Sri Lanka and are due to arrive in Colombo on December 14, 2008. The books have been donated to Saiva Mangaiyar Vidyalayam (Hindu Ladies College), a school based in Sri Lanka's capital of Colombo which now serves over 2400 children, including many recently displaced youth. The school is run by Saiva Mangaiyar Kalagam, a nonprofit organization which Visions is partnering with on the Kalagam Visions Learning Centre (KVLC--due to begin construction shortly). The books will be added to the school's library and incorporated into the KVLC once it is complete. The teachers and students are very grateful to receive this generous donation.

"Going Global in an IT World" Conference at UCLA Initiates Process for Developing 3 IT Institutes in Sri Lanka

On Saturday, June 28th Visions hosted a conference at the University of California, Los Angeles to discuss the crucial need & opportunity for IT in Sri Lanka today and to initiate discussions behind 3 proposed IT institutes (2 in Colombo & 1 in Jaffna). We welcomed representatives from ITTPO, St. John's Old Boys Association (OBA), Operation USA, Manitha Neyam Trust, and Visions, who were some of the 30 participants who joined us either in person or via conference call. This was an important first step in making these institutes a reality. We look forward to seeing each project through to its completion and to stay committed to the overall development of each.

Here are some photos of the event:

Visions Co-Director Greg Buie welcomes participants to the conference

Our featured guest, Mr. Sivathasan, came from Sri Lanka to present his project
on behalf of the St. John's Old Boys Association

Mr. Subramaniam Sivathasan speaks on the need for IT in Sri Lanka

A roundtable discussion on how to move forward with these 2 initiatives

To read more about this event, please visit the Visions website by clicking on this link: http://www.visionsforthefuture.org/news.html

Photo Shoot Fundraiser held in San Diego

San Diego professional photographer Anouk Vashe (www.anoukvashe.com) held a fundraiser for Visions on June 14th at her studio in North Park, San Diego. Anouk planned and organized the fundraiser, drawing upon her own talents and skills. This is a perfect example for how YOU can get involved with Visions too...be creative and do what you're best at, what you're passionate about. This photo shoot fundraiser raised a small amount of money for both Visions and Anouk's program fee in Kenya this summer when she volunteers with Visions. Congrats, Anouk, and thank you for your support!

Anouk at her studio in North Park, San Diego, CA

You too can organize your own fundraiser or event. More and more people are getting behind our organization in this manner. We encourage you to think of what you can do to help us help youth in Sri Lanka, Kenya, and (as of this summer) India. We look forward to working with you!

Visions Photo Shoot Fundraiser: June 14th

In just a few days professional photographer Anouk Vashe will open up her studio in San Diego (North Park) for seriously discounted prices in order to raise money for the Visions Leadership & Empowerment Camps in Kenya this summer. On Saturday, June 14th from 1:00-6:00pm Anouk will be holding private photo shoots at significantly discounted rates. The money will benefit the Visions summer camps (50% of the proceeds), as well as Anouk's trip to Kenya to work directly with the youth this August.

For the entire day Anouk will be scheduling people interested in taking professional photos of themselves, their family, their friends...you decide! There is NO sitting fee. Pricing is $25 for 3 shots, $50 for 10 shots, or $75 for 20 shots. All images (corrected & edited) will be burned on a CD and given to you then and there. We would love to have your support in this unique fundraising effort. To sign up, simply email gtbuie@gmail.com. All the details of the event, including location, will be mailed to you.

We would appreciate it very much if you could please share this unique opportunity with your friends and contacts as well. Thank you very much! Hope to see you there~

Local Volunteer Organizes Supply Drive

Special thanks are due to Elaine Lin, a junior at Esperanza High School in Anaheim, CA, for organizing a supplies drive for the Visions Leadership & Empowerment Camps in Sri Lanka & Kenya this summer. By reaching out to other student organizations on campus, friends, and local businesses, Elaine was able to raise roughly $700 in supplies and money for Visions. Elaine took the personal initiative to contact Visions and organize this effort independently, as she was simply interested in get involved and helping others who have so little. With her help most of the items on the Visions Wishlist have now been removed, as we are near our goal of getting all the supplies for the summer camps donated. There are, however, a few items left, including many books. So if you would like to help, please visit our Wishlist here (Visions Wishlist 2008) and help us help the youth in Sri Lanka & Kenya have a meaningful educational experience this summer. Thank you, Elaine, and all those who took part in this drive. It is heroes like you that drive our organization...

We want YOU to join Visions!

The growth of Visions over the past few months has been incredibly exciting (and challenging) for those of us behind the organization. And we need your continued support to help build this nonprofit into something even better! This is an open invitation to ANY & ALL persons who are interested in getting involved in the nonprofit field, in helping disadvantaged youth & orphans, in building communities & local capacity so that we may one day live in a more equitable and prosperous world. Whether you have a ton of experience or none at all, you are welcome to join us. Visions relies heavily on the support of volunteers (locally and abroad) and could not function without the generous support of committed individuals who share our passion to change the world.

You can help by offering your professional services (particularly IT, website, financial, legal, marketing, nonprofit, etc.), by volunteering your time either locally or abroad for any amount of time, by helping Visions to network and reach out to as many people as possible, by planning and organizing your own event or fundraiser, by starting your own local chapter of Visions in your city, by attending a Visions event or fundraiser, by getting a corporate contribution from your company or encouraging them to participate in an employee matching program, or by simply making a donation. The possibilities are endless. But we need your help. We are growing, and we want you to be a part of it. This is such an exciting time for us. Please join us and help us to make a real, lasting impact on the lives of young people in Sri Lanka & Kenya!

Visions Expands to New York with 2 Events

Visions is happy to announce that the "Lighting the Way" social mixer at Katra Lounge in New York City successfully raised $1200, which will benefit the summer leadership camps. Thank you to Operation USA (www.opusa.org) for their support in organizing and bringing guests to the event. There were approximately 60 people in attendance, and we appreciated the opportunity to share information about our organizations and efforts to help those in need.


Visions also hosted the Sri Lanka Young Professionals Conference held at Columbia University in NY on May 25th, which was a great opportunity for Visions and other organizations doing important work in Sri Lanka to share information and network with each other. With 24 people in attendance and the participation of 4 other organizations (Operation USA, IMHO, PEARL, & Sarvodaya USA), it was a great opportunity to network and mobilize behind the common goal of helping people in Sri Lanka. Special thanks are due to Mythri Jegathesan, Nimmi Gowrinathan, Anjana Pathmarajah, Brintha Jeyalingam, Tasha Manoranjan, Michael Trainer, Dr. Sujanthy Rajaram, and Trent Holland. And thank you to all who attended! Let's all please keep in touch. And next time we'll make it even bigger...


If you would like to download the presentations or conference notes, please visit the Visions website (look under 'News' or 'Events'). Thank you New York for your support!

‘Fashions at the Cove’ Raises $2,721.47 for Visions Summer Leadership Camps

The 1^st Annual ‘Fashions at the Cove’ Charity Fashion Show to benefit Visions was held on Thursday, April 17^th at the La Jolla Cove Suites in beautiful Downtown La Jolla. Over 120 guests attended the event, which raised $2,721.47 for the annual Visions Summer Leadership Camps in Sri Lanka and Kenya. With the help of many volunteers, including 15 gorgeous models, a DJ, an MC, a few former Visions summer volunteers, and several others, the event went incredibly well. The setting and weather could not have been more perfect either.

The event was planned by Trent Holland, a graduating senior at UC San Diego who is volunteering in Kenya this summer, and Visions Co-Director Greg Buie. Special thanks are due to the La Jolla Cove Suites for generously donating the incredible venue with picturesque views of the ocean and beaches, professional photographer Anouk Vashe for her beautiful photos at no charge to Visions, Chillers Clothing, LF La Jolla, Dreamgirls Boutique, all the models and volunteers, and all who came to the event and/or donated to the cause. We are extremely grateful for your
support!