Visions Global Empowerment

To enable sustainable development through education, leadership and technology.

Visions is especially focused on enabling social change in communities affected by poverty, conflict and disability through education, leadership development and technology. We envision a world where all people have access to quality education, are empowered to realize their unique aspirations, and are equipped to make positive contributions to our world.

Worldwide, millions of children face immense daily hardships that prevent them from accessing a quality education or preparing themselves for a meaningful, educated, and independent life. Since 2003, we have labored tirelessly in creating educational and personal development opportunities that serve community needs and enable youth to improve their own lives and overall wellbeing.

Currently, Visions operates in 5 countries – Ethiopia, India, Sri Lanka, Nicaragua and the U.S.

Our top accomplishments for the past year:

1. As of 2024, Visions has impacted the lives of more than 55,000 people worldwide!

2. Escuela Vera Angelita - our nonprofit school based in Matagalpa, Nicaragua - officially reopened in July 2024, starting with young adult technical certificate training courses.

3. Establishment of the Dr. Catherine Clark Center for Audiology at our Visions Center for the Deaf in Hawassa, Ethiopia.

4. Another batch of university scholars in India graduated, bringing our total number of graduates now to 72.

Twenty-seven years of conflict in Sri Lanka left millions of young people destitute, without access to jobs, schools, and even basic needs like food and shelter. While the war is now over (having officially come to a close in 2009), a long process of recovery and development continues to burden a society which has lost most of its qualified teachers, schools, leaders, and professionals.

In India, poverty remains the leading source of educational deprivation among children. Additionally, social hierarchies and gender discrimination prevent many young people from realizing their potential to participate as educated, active citizens in a fast-changing society. And refugee populations that fled the civil conflict in Sri Lanka over the past several decades face a unique set of challenges of their own, including an unclear legal status and various restrictions.

Ethiopia is a very low-income, underdeveloped country with a population of more than 103 million, ranking 174th in the world on the Human Development Index. Aside from the many daily struggles faced by millions of Ethiopians, having a disability adds an extra layer of hardship that makes even the most routine activities difficult or impossible. Nationwide there is an extreme lack of services available to the Deaf community in particular. Regular challenges faced by the Deaf in Ethiopia often include the inability to access basic information or services, receive an education, access medical / health care, communicate openly with others, hold a meaningful job or trade, participate in basic community activities because of stigma and discrimination, and so much more.

With a population of 6.5 million people, Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America and the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It ranks 128th on the Human Development Index with 42.5% of Nicaraguans living at or below the poverty line. That number jumps to a staggering 63.3% when looking specifically at the rural population. Only 56% of youth nationwide who do attend school make it past Grade 5, and a mere 17% graduate from secondary school. In rural areas, the statistics are much worse though. A lack of transportation and family/economic pressure to start working & earning an income serve as major barriers to students continuing their studies.

Ethiopia, India, Sri Lanka, Nicaragua, United States, global

Thank you for believing in our mission and in the transformative power of education!