WHERE WE WORK

Visions currently serves communities in the following countries:

• SRI LANKA (Northern & Eastern Provinces; since 2003)

• INDIA (states of Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, & Union Territory of Pondicherry; since 2008)

• ETHIOPIA (Sidama & Amhara Regions; since 2012)

• NICARAGUA (Matagalpa District; since 2017)

The Need

In addition to various economic challenges, twenty-seven years of conflict in Sri Lanka left millions of young people without adequate access to jobs, schools, and even basic needs like food and shelter. While the conflict officially came to a close in 2009, a long process of recovery and development has continued to bring challenges to a society which lost many 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 6.17 million people, Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America and the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It ranks 125th 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.