By Tim Pare | Co-Founder
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
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