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

The Tea Leaf Trust is an amazing NGO that are achieving so much for the local tea plantation communities.

It is far more than upskilling their English language skills as they learn about business methodologies, public speaking, how to develop their confidence and much more!

I spent two weeks in the school in Nuwara Eliya and was so impressed by the principal and teachers, all of whom attended this school as students.

And the students themselves are wonderful, eager, inspiring young adults who I wish all the best for their future.

An amazing NGO all round!

This was one of the most special and memorable experiences of my 6 months travelling Asia. If you want to open your eyes to how people from a disadvantaged community facing poverty live, get a deep insight into Sri Lankan culture and contribute to a cause that’s making a significant impact in changing lives, then this is the place for you!

I spent a month at TLT - 3 weeks in Maskeliya and 1 week in Nuwara Eliya - during that time I supported teachers in their lessons, helped them with their English and lead language games to support advanced students with their conversational English. Beyond that I formed wonderful friendships with the teachers and students and listened as many shared incredibly inspiring stories of the hardship they’ve faced and the resilience they’ve used to tackle problems over and over again. Outside of school I explored the stunning areas where the schools are based with teachers and volunteers and visited the homes of teachers to see how they live their lives, only being welcomed with the warmest hospitality. I think even a volunteer like me, who doesn’t have expertise in education/teaching, can have an important impact by making the students and teachers in this community feel seen and cared for by someone from outside of their world, I could really see how much it meant for them that I wanted to help them improve their English, understand their lives and be their friend.

In comparison to my experience volunteering elsewhere I think the experience of volunteering at TLT maintains a good balance between being eye opening and rewarding whilst not being something that’s too outside of your comfort zone.

With Agility With No Borders, we have created a tiny NGO aiming at narrowing life divides of unpriviledged people. In Sept 2023, we spent 1 intense and great week within the MASKELYA Tea Lea Center, to share with managers, teachers and students various practices and tools directly linked to the 21st century skills (World Economic Forum), like creativity / innovation, critical thinking / problem solving, teamwork / collaboration, dialogic vs instructional teaching, agile leadership, etc.... The welcome, the energy and the willingness to learn were unforgettable. We applied the same in Nepal, and we are preparing our next and much longer stay within Tea Leaf Vision in summer 2024.

After spending a year working with different non-profits around the globe, my time as a photographer with Tea Leaf Trust in Sri Lanka was an absolute highlight!

I spent 3 weeks living in Nuwara Eliya (documenting a newly opened Tea Leaf school) and 1 week in Maskeliya (documenting a more established Tea Leaf school). It was an incredible experience learning about life in the upcountry tea estates, while simultaneously supporting groundbreaking work in education, health, and social development.

This would be an especially valuable experience for those with or looking to gain teaching experience, or with a passion for improving grassroots education. Most needed are volunteers to assist in the schools, which support some of the most under-resourced - and high potential - young adults in the country.

When looking for a volunteer experience I wanted to find an opportunity that was meaningful, very much linked and integrated in the community and with the chance to get to know local people and culture in a way beyond the usual travel experience. Tea Leaf Trust looked great on paper and from the first moment chatting with the founders and the volunteer coordinator to the three-week experience in Maskeliya, I was not disappointed.

I am a teacher so I was looking forward to sharing some of my skills but I think the school does very well with matching skills to the programme and welcomes a diverse range of people.

At school there was support, inspiration and friends to be found at every turn. The local staff are very welcoming and inspiring people. Sharing moments with them in classes, over lunch and even in social times was a real highlight. Working with the students there, with their drive to make the best of the education they were receiving and develop not only themselves but the community, was also an incredible experience.

We stayed with a local family which really added to the experience as we would spend evenings sitting round the dinner table eating the best food I tasted in Sri Lanka and chatting with the family.

All round the experience was fantastic and I really hope to go back in the future to this amazing country, town and school.

Back in December of 2017, my partner Jenny and I made a decision to change paths. We were determined to embrace change and take intermittent breaks from our chosen careers, an array of furloughs as such. One night as we sat together in our flat in Spain, we fortuitously discovered Tea Leaf Vision.

From the very beginning we were inspired by Yasmene and Tim's story, it seem both righteous and compassionate. After a delightful interview with Carol Workum we were even more convinced that TLV was the volunteer project that we truly wanted to be part of. By the end of the month we got the confirmation that we had been selected to volunteer in February of 2018.

Filled with glee, we vowed to give all we could to the project. Coincidentally it was at this time (January 2018), that Jenny and I were to marry. We decided that instead of people giving us gifts of cash that rather they should sponsor us to volunteer with TLV.

Arriving in Maskeliya was a hugely enriching experience, the lush green rolling hills, the smiles on everyone's faces the tangible sense of hope. At the first Monday morning assembly we got to know all the teachers, interns and students. We could immediately tell that everyone was driven by passion and resilience. This became contagious.

All our interactions with locals, staff and students were life enhancing and fulfilling. Long-lasting friendships were established almost immediately.

In the end, we spent a mere three weeks at TLV in Maskeliya, yet it will stay with us for a lifetime. The positive effects that TLV has on the local and wider community is both admirable and essential.

I would encourage anyone who believes in people's inherent desire to overcome difficult situations and strive to better themselves, to spend at least a few weeks at this unique Sri Lankan/British sanctuary.

Becoming a volunteer with the Tea Leaf Trust was a life-changing experience for me. From my first time travelling in a tuk-tuk and my first experience of eating thosas at Ambals on my first evening in Nuwara Eliya, I had the most amazing time in this beautiful country. Of course, I was there to work, and it was a pleasure to play a small part in the running of Tea Leaf Vision Schools in Nuwara Eliya, Maskeliya and Palmerston, although it was such fun that a lot of the time it didn’t even feel like work. It was very moving to witness at first-hand the impact of Tea Leaf Vision's programmes on students from the tea estates and, for me, although improving students’ knowledge of English was, of course, extremely encouraging and very important, it was the impact that their programmes have on students’ self-esteem, belief in themselves and hope for their future that I found the most powerful. It is not an exaggeration to say that young students’ lives have been transformed by their attendance on Tea Leaf Vision programmes and it was a privilege to see this for myself. I worked with some truly inspiring people during my 3-month stint as a volunteer and I have memories that will stay with me forever. I learned in Sri Lanka to expect the unexpected and the personal journey I experienced, both literally and metaphorically, during my time there had a profound effect on me, to the extent that I felt that I came back a different person. I went with the idea that I would do my best to give all I could to support the work of this amazing charity, but I left feeling I had received so much more from this experience than I had given and, as someone who spent the whole of my working life involved in education, I learned much more there than I could ever have imagined.

Before I left for Sri Lanka I was excited, intrigued and a little daunted. I am not a teacher and following my last experience of teaching over 10 years ago I decided that teaching was not for me. Yet here I was in Sri Lanka, on my own, in front of twenty-five 17-25 year olds with a lesson plan in hand- aagh! However as the weeks went on I looked forward to my own classes and spending time with the students, being able to get to know them more and helping them increase in confidence. Seeing the school in action and being part of their team was incredibly special. The positivity of the students and staff is infectious and you really are filled with hope for these young people. I feel privileged and humbled to have been part of and supported this amazing charity.
During my time with TLT I supported and taught a range of classes. The key role that you have as a volunteer is to provide these young people with a listening, interested ear and a chance for them to practise conversational English.
From there it really depends on your passions and interests. We helped to implement admin systems, ran first aid workshops, proof read speeches and even taught some folk dancing!
If you are willing to learn from and experience a new culture, and in turn share some of your own - then volunteering with TLT could be the opportunity for you!