Sunday Times, Colombo, Sri Lanka  Sunday January 23, 2011

ICAN geared to prove they can do it in Sri Lanka

What is ICAN? The whole island is agog wondering about ICAN!! What is this mystery organization arriving in Sri Lanka? What are they going to be doing? Why are they here? Will it benefit our country? Will it benefit the world?

However, all of us will have to be patient until next week to find out more about ICAN. Meanwhile, we challenge you to find them before they reveal themselves. Or…simply read the full details in next week’s paper right here in this section. Here are some hints to help you find out more about ICAN:
ICAN is about education and training. ICAN empowers women. ICAN helps university graduates. ICAN graduates will find well-paying jobs. ICAN graduates may earn more than 500,000SLR each month. ICAN graduates will have the opportunity to work overseas. ICAN graduates can work anywhere they choose. ICAN is endorsed by major figures in the government of Sri Lanka. ICAN’s first campus will be known as “Shiranthi Wickramasinghe Rajapaksa” campus. ICAN is supported by many world leaders.
ICAN has a website that starts with www. ICAN is a social project. ICAN will help Sri Lanka’s development. ICAN will increase remittances and improve Sri Lanka’s balance of trade. The I in ICAN stands for International.

ICAN students can defer payments until after they start earning. ICAN students don’t have to pay anything if after they finish they earn less than about 100,000SLR per month. One of the founders of ICAN is a native Sri Lankan. The founders are pictured here with Jaliya Wickramasuriya, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to USA. ICAN will train unemployed/underemployed university-graduated women in an accelerated programme in Sri Lanka. ICAN graduates will remit money to their families and communities resulting in valuable foreign exchange for Sri Lanka. ICAN’s direct investments help boost the Sri Lankan economy and create jobs. ICAN’s innovative tuition plan defers all tuition until after students graduate and start earning, allowing women from all economic strata to participate. ICAN students will not be a burden on their parents or families. ICAN tuition is scaled according to opportunity chosen, at 10% of earned income for 10 years.

ICAN tuition is waived if income is low in any year, encouraging the choice of social jobs and time off to raise families. ICAN will stress American cultural immersion and English language for its students. ICAN’s accelerated programme is planned over two years in six consecutive trimesters with rolling admissions. ICAN’s curriculum based on WHO and AACN standards has been approved by Sri Lankan authorities. ICAN has strong support from the Sri Lankan government and many institutions. ICAN students will be drawn primarily from university-graduated women in Sri Lanka as well as from USA and other countries. ICAN will collaborate on tailoring training specific to the needs of customers. ICAN’s English-speaking, accent-trained graduates, productive on the first day of work, will benefit employers. ICAN is a play on words… you can, I can, we all can! Find out more about ICAN next week!!

Original article:

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110123/Education/ed03.html

On November 7, 2010, ICAN Advisor Kavita N. Ramdas reflected on her 14 years as CEO of the Global Fund for Women, and shared her insights on women’s empowerment and human rights. A thought leader in the fields of philanthropy and women’s rights, Kavita is a prolific writer and an inspiring speaker who has spoken at TED, PBS, Stanford, World Affairs Council, and many other venues.

ICAN Founders Munira and Shabbir then spoke about  ICAN (International College of American Nursing), an innovative social enterprise to empower unemployed women graduates in Sri Lanka, while simultaneously alleviating the global nursing shortage. Guests included leaders in social innovation and philanthropy, MIT in the Bay area, Stanford alumni and faculty, and our outstanding group of advisors. It was an informative afternoon and an exciting discussion about how investing in women can unlock infinite potential around the globe.

Now, Shabbir Nomanbhoy’s story: At the urging of friend and past class secretary Dick Fletcher, he writes about a philanthropic project that he and wife Munira are working on to start a nursing school in Sri Lanka. Twenty years ago he started, and then ran and eventually sold, an integrated home-nursing company, becoming intimately familiar with the huge, looming worldwide nursing shortage. The World Health Organization has declared this to be a major crisis, as the world’s population ages and citizens of fast-developing countries like India and Brazil demand more and better health care. Without adequate human resources, the best of drugs and medical research cannot be effectively delivered, and nurses are central to that delivery.