Mission Statement
To deliver high quality, accessible educational programmes, both full-time and part time, to young people and children from the tea estates surrounding the Maskeliya area of Central Province, Sri Lanka.
To effect social transformation in tea estate communities by highlighting the importance of community service, and instilling it as a core value in youth through a series of practical programmes that develop the skills of young people to give back to their communities.
To improve the employability of youth and choice of employment options outside the tea estates by facilitating the development of high-standard English language skills and professionalism.
To facilitate the development of the emotional health of young people to enable them to strengthen their positive coping strategies to deal with the complex societal issues that exist in their communities.
Description
We run the Tea Leaf Vision Centre for Professional Development where we provide a high quality education for the 18 to 24 year olds of the deprived tea leaf estates in central Sri Lanka.
The young adults of these disadvantaged communities suffer from a lack of opportunities in education and employment which would allow them to lead better lives. Local established systems ignore basic human rights and take advantage of the intrinsic lack of education to cultivate a dependent workforce.
The Centre provides a number of programmes which deliver high-quality lessons in English Speech and Grammar; Business; I.T.; and Success and Ethics. By improving the employability of the youth we increase their employment prospects outside the tea estates, enabling them to reach their full potential.
We also facilitate the personal development of our students so they can deal with the complex social issues surrounding them. These include: Alcoholism amongst 85% of the adult male tea estate community and domestic violence against 83% of tea estate women (20% sexual violence). Our Emotional Health lessons raise awareness about common problems, such as addiction and depression, with the aim of strengthening positive coping strategies.
These two elements stimulate their social consciences so they can be 'Change Agents' within their communities and become the solution to the generational poverty and oppression these estates have grown to accept.
