Empower Young Lives in Sri Lanka’s Tea Plantations – Volunteer with Tea Leaf Trust

I had such a fantastic experience volunteering at Tea Leaf Trust. Everyone I came across was very friendly and cared deeply about the project. Hearing the teachers and students personal stories and the impact that Tea Leaf has had on their lives was very heart warming. Tea Leaf Trust is always thinking about new ways they can try to support the community and students are an active part of this process. All the staff made a huge effort to make me feel welcome by inviting me to their homes and showing me around. I was lucky enough to attend the students graduation and my homestay host and the teachers lent me traditional clothes, jewellery and dressed me on the day. All memories I certainly will never forget!

My name is Tharaka and I'm the founder of Project Roots - I came to Tea Leaf Trust (TLT) with Sammy (another volunteer) with the intention to establish a partnership with TLT while supporting the improvement of the emotional health curriculum (scope of work agreed for Sammy). Now being of Sri Lankan origin but growing up in New Zealand, I never got much of a chance to explore the uphill country region, so this was a perfect chance to really immerse myself! TLT brings such a warm and genuine atmosphere at the schools, we had the opportunity to work with the Maskeliya team. We felt very welcomed and were invited to participate in many events such as the students annual graduation. Two weeks was never going to be enough time but we managed to identity gaps based on the current emotional health curriculum and provide recommendations, To ensure sustainability of the engagement, we will be arranging a virtual workshop to train the teachers on the new improvements before the curriculum is taught. The staff culture and planning was phenomenal and it was evident from the achievement of the students at graduation, seeing how far they have come in just one year was incredible! We had the chance to experience the Tea Pick, which enabled us to understand how difficult it was to pluck 18kg of tea leaves per day - great way to raise awareness and fundraise for a needed cause. I will need to visit again to gain a full appreciation for the holistic course TLT provide but I have no doubt I will be connecting future volunteers here. Hoping to see our partnership flourish, thank you Tea Leaf Trust and for all the generational impact you make for the tea estate communities!

I did my volunteer experience for two weeks with TLT. I was lucky enough to experience the speech conference in both Maskeliya and Nuwaraeliya. The teachers and team are incredible- they are so welcoming and it was such an eye opening experience. It was a privilege to experience the full circle of students becoming teachers while also learning about the social issues TLT is looking to solve. I highly recommend volunteering at TLT and the accommodation spots recommended were so safe. I stayed with Krishan at Sky Haven and they made me feel part of their family. It was so lovely.

I had a truly wonderful experience at Tea Leaf Trust. All the staff are incredibly passionate about their work, creating a welcoming and inspiring atmosphere. They run impactful and sustainable projects, such as those focused on women’s empowerment, which help provide skills and confidence for a better future, as well as the cookstove project, which supports environmental sustainability and improves daily life for local communities.

I learned so much during my time there and gained valuable insight into the challenges these communities face, as well as the meaningful solutions being implemented. This experience has definitely changed the way I see things and inspired me to get more involved in similar initiatives.

Thank you so much for giving me the chance to be part of this amazing work!

I have been volunteering in Maskeliya for 3 weeks. Tea Leaf Trust mainly focuses on the educational aspects, but there are several projects run by TLT that uplift the community. For example, they organise workshops and help women workers on the tea estates to set up their own businesses. And the other interesting project is the cookstove, which not only helps the community but also protects the earth. I am so grateful to volunteer here, it is hard to express my feelings in words. Once you experience volunteering, you will understand exactly how I feel!

My volunteer experience at TLT was amazing. As a 17 year old, I was super nervous to go overseas alone, but the people at TLT made me feel at home immediately. While working, I wasn’t treated like an outsider, but as one of the staff and made close friendships with the staff and students that I will miss. However, the best part of course is TLT’s genuine impact on the country, and how every volunteer gets the opportunity to contribute. I got to see and be a part of the live’s of Sri Lanka’s future an experience I will never forget.

I am now 70 and I have travelled a lot in different countries . Earlier this year I spent nearly 3 months with Tea Leaf. It has been a wonderful experience with great people: persons in charge, teachers, students taught me a lot about life and I did my best to help them. All these people make the experience worth it, they move forward and make us change in a good way. I am not the same person I was , I try to understand why people do things, behave in a certain way rather than judge them without knowing anything about them.

We got to see the amazing work of Tea Leaf Trust in the beautiful inland area of Sri Lanka, in Maskeliya. The staff are very passionate and dedicated. Everything was well planned, and the teamwork went smoothly. The people here are so kind, and you get a good understanding of the organization’s work. You really have to see for yourself how great their work is.
The students are very polite, kind, and eager to connect. You also hear their stories and learn about the big challenges they face. The Tea Leaf Trust team created a great program for us, and you can really make a difference here. I highly recommend volunteering with them!.