The documentary series "Geschwisterbande" takes us into the private rooms of prominent siblings and shows how they influence each other's creativity. Hila and Wana Limar talk about their work at Visions, with SEVAR Studios and the responsibility they feel for social commitment and especially the commitment to educational justice.

Part of the Visions team is going on a 10-day project trip to eastern Turkey and north-western Syria in August to get an idea of the situation on the ground after the devastating earthquakes in February 2023. We were always accompanied by our local partners, who have been committed to supporting the survivors since the very beginning and were also able to provide initial emergency aid thanks to the donations for Visions for Children e.V.

Two years after the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, the level of attention has dropped dramatically. But the situation in the country is very different: a dangerous humanitarian crisis is raging in Afghanistan and women's and human rights are being increasingly restricted.

We are therefore taking the anniversary as an opportunity to ask: How are people in the country doing? Like those who were evacuated And those who had to flee? And we remind you: #DontForgetAfghanistan!

Visions for Children has grown significantly in recent years and should continue to do so,
to advance our vision: A world in which every child can read and write. This also has an impact on the club structure. In addition to the full-time Management Board, there is now also an honorary Supervisory Board. The General Meeting elected Saskia Haun, Maulud Amir and Alexander Kopf for this position.

We are looking forward to working together and would like to thank Süleyman Günyar, Svenja Wienböker and Saskia Haun (former honorary board) as well as Alexander Kopf, Nemo Kasztelan, Nielab Schahrochie and Nina Ludolphi (former advisory board) for their commitment and their great work for Visions!

"What will happen to Afghanistan?" – with this question as our main theme, we were able to invite you to Kino Central in Berlin on March 15. Following a opening speech by Hamburg State Councillor Almut Möller, we showed together with Global Citizen and the Asia Bridge Foundation the Oscar-nominated short film documentary "Three Songs with Benazir". During a following panel, Shahina Gambir, Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi and Hila Limar discussed the solutions that are now needed on behalf of the Afghan people – and the role that German development assistance plays in this regard.

Our CEO Hila Limar has been awarded the ONE WORLD Medal by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). With this award, the BMZ recognizes outstanding personal commitment to development assistance. Congratulations Hila and thank you for your tireless efforts!

In the NDR Talk Show, CEO Hila Limar and Visions ambassador Wana Limar talk about the work of Visions for Children, how they experienced the Taliban takeover and how they are continuing development projects despite the difficult conditions. The whole interview is available online in the ARD media library.

You can now listen to the first episode of our podcast "The Taliban are back: The predictable disaster in Afghanistan" – wherever podcasts are available. In the first episode, Hila Limar and Emran Feroz talk about developments in Afghanistan from 1970 to 2001. A new episode will be released every two weeks from now on. Enjoy listening to it!

"Uganda and other African countries are not under-developed countries. They are over-exploited countries." This was just one of many poignant and important insights that Wendy (pictured) and Olivia from No White Saviors shared with us during the event. Together, we discussed how we can engage responsibly and sustainably without falling into the role of white saviors.

The participants in this year's proTechnicale programme, a study orientation and qualification year for high school graduates from all over Germany, have donated all of the profits raised from the sale of their audiobook to Visions for Children e.V. Our Head of Fundraising, Jessica, accepted the donation on behalf of Visions, which will benefit our projects in Afghanistan.

It has been a year since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan. Since then, girls' right to education has been increasingly restricted. To draw attention to this, we wanted to show short films on passenger television to appeal to people not to lose sight of the Afghan population. Special thanks to Berliner Fenster, Münchner Fenster, Ströer and Hamburger Hochbahn for supporting our "Let Afghan Girls Learn" campaign!

To mark one year since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, we took to the streets in Hamburg and Berlin on 13 August under the slogan #DontForgetAfghanistan to remind the German government of its responsibility for all Afghans. We also raised awareness of the situation in Afghanistan via our social networks.

Prior to the Coldplay concerts in Berlin's Olympic Stadium, with a small team we were given the opportunity to raise awareness of the situation of Afghan schoolgirls.

Visions CEO Hila was a guest on Hamburg Marketing GmbH's "Über den Tellerrand" podcast. In the episode, she talks about the work of an NGO, how it differs from the structures of traditional companies and the direction in which the work of NGOs could develop.

At the Sound of Peace in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, our CEO Hila spoke about the current situation in Afghanistan and appealed to the government to take responsibility!

In the current issue of Vogue Germany, Hila talks to Maria Hunstig about our work in Afghanistan and our approach to sustainable development cooperation. Many thanks for this important and well-done portrait!

To celebrate our 15th anniversary, we had planned several activities for our followers and donors as well as a big party to thank all our supporters and partners. However, the developments in Afghanistan have put us in the opposite of a celebratory mood. Instead, we spontaneously decided to cancel the plans so that the festivities only included a small group of us members.

There was a charity reading for Visions for Children at the JungenSchauSpielHaus Hamburg! The author Kübra Gümüşay read from her book "Sprache und Sein" accompanied by music from the ensemble of the Junges SchauSpielHaus.

This year, Beiersdorf AG once again supported various organizations through a donation marathon at Betterplace.org. Across our networks, we were able to raise 3,000 euros for our Barmwony project in Uganda and reached 5th place in the marathon!

With its initiative #DefendAfghanWomen, HÁWAR.help was able to collect donations to the amount of €160,000 with us being selected as one of the beneficiary organizations. Katie from Háwar.help (left in the picture) presented the donation cheque for €50,000 to our Deputy CEO Saskia (right in the picture) and our volunteer Dilara (center). The money will be used to rebuild the Mohammad Parsa School in Kabul.

On ZDF's 'Forum am Freitag', Hila and Wana spoke about their newly founded jewelry label Sevar. The jewelry is handmade in Kabul using lapis lazuli and is intended to be made by young women as part of a future training project. This gives the women the chance to learn a profession that will enable them to shape their future in a self-determined and independent way. Hila also spoke about the Khwaja Boghra school project as well as her project trip to Afghanistan. You can watch it in the ZDF media library!

Earlier this year, our CEO Hila was a guest on both the "zenith Podcast" and "Home Girls" alongside her sister and Visions ambassador Wana. During one episode of the "opiumpodcast", Hila also spoke about conscious and unconscious privileges in everyday life, impressions from trips to Afghanistan and the work of Visions. Have a listen!

Well deserved: Our CEO Hila was voted one of the 100 Women of the Year 2020. Alongside 99 other outstanding and dedicated women, she was featured on the cover of Focus magazine. The magazine featured a profile of her work for Visions for Children. We are extremely proud of Hila and are very thankful for her strong and tireless commitment to educational justice!

"Fighting poverty is big business – but who profits the most?" Michael Matheson Miller devotes himself to this question in his award-winning documentary "Poverty, Inc.", which sheds light on the billion-dollar business behind poverty reduction. Together with the Abaton cinema in Hamburg, we hosted a screening of the film followed by a panel discussion. We discussed the content of the documentary and alternative ways of development cooperation. Svenja Wienböker, project manager of our association, and Lucy Larbi from Future of Ghana e.V. attended the event as guests. The evening was moderated by Hila Limar, Chairwoman of the Board of Visions for Children e.V.

On December 16, 2019, Hamburg 1 honored exceptional personalities from the city in various categories as "Hamburger des Jahres 2019". Our CEO Hila and her sister Wana, ambassador and member of our organization, received the award in the "Social Commitment" category and dedicated it to the whole Visions team. More than 250 invited guests from politics, business and the media attended the evening.

At today's members' meeting, we congratulated Hila on 10 years as Chair of the Board of Visions for Children. Every day, she does a tremendous job. She tirelessly fights for a fairer world with more equal prospects for children in war and conflict zones. Hila inspires and empowers, nurturing and encouraging the ambition in others to stand up for themselves and lead by example. We couldn't wish for a better "boss". Thank you Hila and here's to the next 10 years! The illustration was made by our member Müge Y.

As of today, the 20Gs compilation is officially available on Spotify, iTunes, hhv.de, Amazon and Google Play. KABUL FIRE Records has brought together 20 producers from the German hip-hop scene who have compiled beats for a record. Between June 29 and July 2, 2019, we will be selling the record at the Millerntorstadion, where you can even spit a few rhymes yourself in our portable recording studio. All proceeds will go to one of our school building projects in Kabul. Many thanks to everyone involved for your commitment!

We have been organizing our charity tournament at Sportpark Öjendorf – the Visions Cup – for five years now. Sporting ambition and social commitment come together when 18 teams compete against each other for the coveted trophy. The joint mission: to kick for better learning conditions at our project schools. All proceeds will go to our school building projects in Afghanistan and Uganda. The last Visions Cup in 2019 alone raised a total of €2,202.20!

In answer to the question – what effect does my donation actually have? – our donation online store will give you an answer. Symbolic products show what your donation can contribute locally. For €7, for example, you can buy 200 pieces of chalk. For €44, you can even purchase an entire chalkboard. The money from your "purchases" will be used for our school construction projects, depending on the urgency. You'll receive a donation certificate at the end, which you can personalize for yourself or as a gift for others.

Thanks to your support, we were able to raise €8,000 in prize money at the Beiersdorf Donation Championship! A total of €20,982 was donated by almost 800 supporters. We will use the money for our school construction project in Katosi to build a school library and new administration rooms. The library has already been completed – around 350 students in Uganda now have free access to books and educational materials. We would like to dedicate this championship victory to our supporters.

On August 26, we organized a communal barbecue in the city park! Everyone was invited to spend the day with us – from members, sponsors and supporters to anyone interested in getting to know our Visions team.

With funds from the BMZ totaling almost €20,000, we are receiving substantial support from the federal government for our project work this year for the first time. Working with the BMZ and the associated bureaucracy was new territory for us, which almost drove us to despair at times. But the effort was worth it. We are extremely happy to finally be able to realize the new construction of the sanitary facilities at our project school in Kabul.

Our Visions team was invited to the Liebeskind party at Berlin Fashion Week. Wana hosted the evening and we were able to present our organization and our work as well as collect donations. In the run-up to the event, Wana has designed a handbag in cooperation with Liebeskind, that will be available from May. For every bag sold, €30 goes directly to our projects – meaning you can once again buy for a good cause!

Every year, our Ramadan members' meetings are held on a Saturday evening so that we can break the fast together afterwards. Once again this year, we met at the home of our board member Anne. With much love and effort, our members ensured that the long and successful meeting ended with a wonderful evening together.

Greetzly launches in Germany today! In return for a donation, you can choose your favorite stars and starlets and receive a personalized video message from them. Among them are LARY, Maddie von Dariadaria, Lena Meyer-Landruth, Chefket, RebellComedy and Wana Limar. Your donation supports 100% of the work of Visions for Children e.V.! Drop by and give your friends, colleagues or yourself a personalized note while supporting Visions!

Just before Christmas, we warmly recommend the fantastic photo book by our much-appreciated photographer and supporter Bureau Malte Metag. The illustrated book shows photos of the village of Katosi that Malte took on our project trip to Uganda in September. All proceeds will go to Visions for Children e.V. to support our school project in Uganda, the St. Bosco School in Katosi. You can find the link to the book here.

Wana and Hila were guests at the preview of the 'Made Auf Veddel' collection by Hamburg designer Sibilla Pavenstedt. The collection aims to combine the traditional craftsmanship of Hamburg women, learned in their countries of origin, with international design. All handbags are locally handmade. Hila was also present to raise awareness of Visions for Children e.V. on the Veddel.

The information evening about our four Visions members' trip to the school building project in Katosi/Uganda was a great success. Numerous guests listened intently to the travel reports of our members. As guest of honor, Luisa Natiwi, Ugandan-born author and founder of Mata Mata – Zebracrossing e.V., gave us an impressive insight into the school system and the current situation in Uganda.

This year, we once again baked cookies on the fairytale ships together with the children from a refugee shelter in Hamburg! The children, parents and the Visions team had a lot of fun baking for Advent. We kneaded, cut out, decorated and enjoyed lots of treats and laughter.