Protect mental health, keep our centres open!

Vanakum, Ayubowan and Hello!

Wow, November already. The time is whizzing past and our centres are in the final push to support our students in planning their next steps for when they graduate. For some, this means finetuning their ambitions into an employment action plan, for others it is about collecting official paperwork for applications to government teacher training college or university.

On my recent trip, I visited each centre and chatted through ambitions and dreams with the students. Amazingly, they almost always talked not in terms of personal ambitions, but those they harboured for their families. At TLC Udapussalawa, 48 out of 60 students wanted to work for Tea Leaf Trust and help to "bring the community up"... that's a lot of pressure on the recruitment team!

I was putting together a grant application recently, and got the question prompt "How did what you did this year make a difference for the community you’re serving?" Here's what I have drafted:

In 2023, Tea Leaf Trust (TLT) significantly impacted the community it serves through various programmes. Despite 98.5% of students living below the UN Extreme Poverty Line, TLT saw a surge in interest, nearly doubling from the previous year. The drop-out rate remained impressively low at under 4%, despite economic collapse-induced pressures. Enrollment increased from 280 to 394 full-time slots.

The Main Diploma (MD) program, a one-year, full-time English-immersive course for 18-26 year-olds, accepted 394 students and is on target for around 370 graduates. This programme emphasises leadership and emotional resilience, preparing students for positive community impact.

MD students made a substantial difference through initiatives like the Children’s English Programme, reaching 5,208 children, and through planning and delivering structured Service Projects benefiting 90,647 community members to date with one service project - focused around street dramas tackling child abuse - still to be delivered. Additionally, MD students ran the Children’s Activity Programme and impacted 5,080 children in estate communities.

Outside the MD, the Basic English Programme (328 participants) and Three-Month Soft Skills Programme (67 participants) extended educational opportunities. The Advanced Diploma and Women’s Rights Self-Help Groups impacted 20 individuals and 400 women with 768 children, respectively.

Despite challenging economic circumstances, 64% of the 2022 cohort found employment or further education, showcasing TLT's success. The organisation's emphasis on employability and support from the senior leadership team and Employability Centre helped graduates navigate a tough job market.

It's incredible the journey we are on together, thank you for being part of it. We have more to do and are planning to expand further in 2024. 

If you have any questions or would like to have a chat and find out more detail, please do get in touch via the website.

With best wishes,

Tim

Links:

• Speech conference preparation
• It takes a village
• Business Fair

Vanakum, Ayubowan and Hello,

I hope that you and your families are doing well and thank you again for the support.

We are halfway through our current year and we are seeing the huge changes happening to our students and therefore the positive impact on their families. As you may know, 47 out of our 50 local staff are TLT graduates with the majority aged under 26 (and all under 35). Most also live on the tea estates are actively involved in their communities and working for change from the grassroots up.

TLT now runs five centres and an overview of impact so far is that we had 791 registerations for 380 places on our Main Diploma programme. We enrolled 394 students across our centres (we just couldn't say no to the extra 14). After 6 months we have only had 6 drop-outs - this is remarkable considering that 15% travel more than 5 hours a day to attend, that we have had lots of extreme weather and that the economic crisis has plunged more and more families into extreme poverty. 98.5% of these students live off less than $1.90 a day - the UN indicator for extreme poverty.

Through the Main Diploma students have started teaching 3,833 children in Grades 4 and 6 every Wednesday through our Children's English Programme partnering with 37 government schools and 23 community centres. Our students also completed their Term One Service Projects which indirectly benefitted 66,630 community members through repairing and cleaning common community spaces. Our Advanced Diploma, which is where we train potential future TLT teachers, is going strong with 20 Main Diploma Graduates studying on this internship with their costs covered.

Alongside this, we have been running part-time classes for students who did not get a place on our Main Diploma. 42 students are currently studying our three-month Soft Skills Programme gaining Basic English but also employability skills (thank you to the Rotary Club of Brigg for funding this), whilst a further 140 students completed our Basic English Programme (4hrs a week grammar and spoken) in April and a new cohort are starting.

The impact we are seeing is incredible, please see below for one of the many case studis we get:

"Nethmini, a resilient and determined individual, lives in the town of Maha Kudugala, Ragala. Every day, she embarks on a 44-kilometre journey, taking more than 2 hours each way, from her home to TLC Udapussellawa, spending LKR 400 on transportation costs. In a family of five, including herself, her parents, brother, and sister, their monthly income amounts to a mere LKR 30,000. Her father diligently serves the Department of Agriculture in Nuwara Eliya, while her mother works at Nuwara Eliya Hela Bojun. Meanwhile, her siblings are seeking employment after completing their studies, with her younger sister having just finished her O/L exams.

Nethmini's father, burdened by diabetes, requires regular medical attention and spends LKR 900 weekly on medication and travel expenses to Nuwara Eliya Hospital. Recent health issues have left him grappling to meet these financial obligations. Additionally, the family grapples with a monthly bank loan payment of LKR 20,000, resorting to pawning their jewels to cover their daily expenses.

Despite these challenging circumstances, Nethmini stands out as an exceptional student, achieving remarkable results in both her O/L and A/L examinations. Fueled by unwavering determination, she has made the decision to pursue her education at TLC Udapussellawa. Nethmini holds great reverence for our school, firmly believing that it holds the key to her future success. With dedication, she strives to achieve her life goals and reduce the financial burdens weighing on her family.

Her ultimate aspiration is to become an English Teacher at TLC Udapussellawa, viewing our organisation as her gateway to realising her dreams. She recognises that the cost of education can be met only through her family's limited income. It is my sincere hope that TLC Udapussellawa can provide the support she needs to overcome these challenges and pave the way for a brighter future."

Thank you for helping us to make this possible.

With best wishes,

Tim

Co-Founder CEO

Links:

• Our website