I feel honored and privileged to have volunteered with feel honored and privileged to have volunteered with Visão for their Christmas camp in 2007-2008. Meeting Liesel Renner along with all the students in the program was one of the most enriching experiences of my educational and professional life. During my time with Visão, I assisted in curriculum development, student support and a research paper on the educational challenges students face in enrolling. Camp Visão taught me so much about the essence of teaching and youth development especially in a post conflict setting. This experience allowed me to take the leap into international development work, with a clear understanding of progress one child at a time. To be a part of an organization and family that truly cares for each student and the surrounding community is inspiring. I encourage everyone to get involved to make a difference!" ~ Cynthia C. 
"I volunteered with Camp Visão in April 2006 and it was by far one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Its original vision was to create a fun and diversified learning environment accessible to Sierra Leonean children from various backgrounds and during my time there, it did exactly that. I was particularly impressed with its emphasis on non-traditional lessons including, career development, sex education, arts, creative workshops amongst others, giving children an opportunity to become well rounded. Visão is a fantastic charity encouraging Sierra Leonean children to be self-confident, tolerant and respectful of each other’s differences. I will volunteer again with Visão and its team of lovely staff in a heartbeat to help create children who can be of valuable contribution to society." ~ Rugie W. |
"I am proud to have had the opportunity to volunteer for such a great organization as this one. My week spent at Camp Visão (CV) gave me one of the best "feel good" experiences of my life. Let's face it, many of us spend 99% of our time pursuing our goals, attending to our own interests, and with those we are close to. But to take part in a volunteer experience as unique as this one, was truly rewarding. The kids at CV are one some of the kindest, sweetest children I have ever met. If only it were possible to bottle the "feeling" you get when you volunteer here. You definitely get back more than you give. As a Sierra Leonean living abroad, being able to connect with a younger generation was a valuable bridging experience for me. I feel truly blessed to have had such an opportunity to help in just a small way." ~ Malaika C.C. 
"On a recent visit to Sierra Leone, I was fortunate to have an opportunity to volunteer at Camp Visão. I assisted with the day-to-day activities, and quickly bonded with the students, staff and other volunteers. It was the most humbling and deeply gratifying experience to be a part of such an amazing program, and I look forward to volunteering again in the future." ~ Mariatu T.K. |
"I was able to support the Visão Foundation during their April 2011Easter Camp. During my visit for the day, I developed and facilitated a Vision Mapping workshop for the participants. The participants created vision maps, and also planned towards their vision. Giving this as a gift to the participants in Visão was truly a humbling experience. The participants created 1 year and 5 year plans, shared with each other and then developed action steps towards how they were going to meet their 1 year plans. At the end of the session each participant also shared their vision out loud to hold themselves accountable to it, in a sense affirming the outcome of their vision. During the workshop there was so much vibrancy in the spirit of the children. “I want to be a professional soccer player” “ I want to be a nollywood actress” “I want to be a doctor” You name it they dreamt it! My experience in Sierra Leone with the youth of Visão restored a spirit of hope and urgency to help and support in the re-building our society. It made me realize that we as Sierra Leoneans need to work harder at collaborating with each other to support ourselves “For bato we sef”. I believe Visão is one of the corner stones for change in Sierra Leone. I think the work this organization is doing is phenomenal, grassroots and truly going to change education policy in our country. If you enjoy giving back to your country or Africa in general, youth empowerment, and want to truly make a difference Visão is the way to go." ~ Moiyattu B. 
"This Christmas and New Years holiday was one of the most rewarding times of my life. I was so happy to be part of such a program like Camp Visão. Being born to a Sierra Leonean mother, I consider Sierra Leone to be my motherland and I can honestly say that I don’t do enough to give back to this country. I believe Camp Visao is doing an impeccable job to bring greatness to children in Freetown. As a volunteer, I gained one on one access with these children on a daily basis for a week and I watched them blossom from shy and timid, to confident young adults. Even though the time was short I feel so impacted by them. This experience is something I will hold close to my heart for years to come, and I hope to gain more wonderful experience through Camp Visao. It is so common to see children happy for only one thing this time of the year, gifts and presents, but the children of Camp Visao are pleased with brighter rewards like hope, education and belief in themselves. Seeing each one of their faces light up throughout the week was priceless to me, and I am so grateful that they welcomed me and bonded with me to form our little family. I would personally like to thank Ms. Liesel Renner and the Visao Foundation for providing an institution that gives the Sierra Leonean community vision towards a brighter future. Even though I was the one suppose to be empowering and teaching the campers of Camp Visao they have truly inspired me to be a better person in my everyday life." –Sade A. |
"December 2009 was simply the best Christmas I have ever had! What made it so brilliant was my experience with the Visão foundation. Initially I was a little apprehensive because I felt that volunteering would take away from my Christmas holiday; but it was quite the opposite. Being able to give back was by far the BEST part of my vacation. After I contacted the organization and acquired extensive information, I was bursting with excitement to volunteer. The opportunity to be a part of helping youth in Sierra Leone access better education is one that I just could not pass up. When I arrived at Camp Visão I was pleasantly surprised to see that a number of the attendees had arrived before me, 45 minutes before camp was due to start! They eagerly told me how excited they were to be there, and to have the opportunity to access a varied education. As a volunteer I was very impressed at the level of planning that had gone into the day to day running of the camp. All lessons were structured out with allocated times for lunch and breaks, and everything needed for the entire week of camp were all readily available for the participants. During the lessons students took copious amounts of notes, and did not hesitate to raise their hands to ask questions. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the experience and the warm welcome I received. Being a Sierra Leonean I know that such experiences are few and far between. Having an organization that provides this kind of support to a quite easily forgotten population is amazing! To this day I am in awe and applaud what they have achieved so far and for what they strive to achieve. I would like to say a big thank you to Visão for allowing me to be a small part of their big dream, and to make a difference to lives of deserving young people." ~ Georgiana B. |
