Story
Team Solihull’s Fundraiser:
Thank you for visiting our fundraising page. Our circa 100 strong team will embark on a 36KM challenge walk from Solihull to Stratford Upon Avon on June 6th, along the tow paths of the Grand Union and Stratford canals. In doing so we would be hugely grateful for your support in helping us to raise funds for the wonderful Tea Leaf Trust.
The story so far:
With the generous financial and project management support of our long-term partners, IMHO USA, the private donations of benevolent diaspora and the backing of Nilcarbon we have, over the last 9 months, already raised the funds to build a very substantial retaining wall (necessary to protect and secure the site in the landslide-prone upcountry) and the Teacher Training Centre & Community Hub itself on the site of their main school in Maskeliya, Sri Lanka. The wall is near completion and the centre build will soon begin.
We are now hoping to raise the funds to fully furnish the centre and also build an endowment fund to ensure, in perpetuity, that affordability is not a barrier to entry for the highest calibre trainees.
Our Goal: to fully furnish our Teacher Training Centre & Community Hub and to build an endowment fund
With your support we will next provide desks, chairs, computers, shelving, smart boards, teaching resources and more for the centre. We will also support the trainee teachers with modest cost-of-living bursaries, many of whom, and their families, live below the poverty line. In building an endowment fund we will subsidise their monthly stipend of £25 per month, which helps with their transport and food costs. The stipend is the difference between the best graduates accepting the invitation to train as teachers, or not training at all.
This new innovative space will unlock golden opportunities for young adults from Sri Lanka’s impoverished tea estate communities to alter their life course, and that of their families.
Sustainability in action
Through a unique partnership with Nilcarbon, the Teacher Training Centre & Community Hub will be a net energy-positive building, generating more electricity than it uses through solar power and battery storage. Surplus energy generated will support the existing school, reducing costs and strengthening long-term sustainability.
The project will also provide a sustainable pipeline of highly qualified teachers who will teach across the Tea Leaf Trusts ever growing network of schools and outreach projects.
Impact
This centre will create 50 new student places each year - 25 for trainee teachers and 25 additional Main Diploma students - while also freeing up classroom space in the existing centre. In turn, this will enable a further 500 children to access part-time classes through the Children’s English Programme and allow 10,000 community members in the local area to benefit through structured service projects.
Your support will help complete a facility that will not only transform education and livelihoods, but also how hundreds of young adults see themselves and their destiny. Young adults like Miss Gowthami.
A Tea Leaf Trust story:
Miss Gowthami
When Gowthami was unable to complete her A-level exams due to poor health, she remembers feeling helpless. She went to work to support her family but received low salaries and unfair treatment. These experiences drew her to Tea Leaf, and she convinced her parents that this education was an opportunity worth the sacrifice of her income for their family. Last year, she faced financial difficulties, sometimes struggling to pay for transport or other basic needs, but she remained committed to learning and growing. Tea Leaf taught her not only English but also discipline and synergy. Each activity, lesson, and small achievement convinced her that she could turn her struggles into opportunities. “Tea Leaf is not just a school; it is a place that gave me courage, confidence, and the chance to grow into who I am today.” Gowthami became someone who could lead, communicate, and help others. Today, she feels ready to achieve her dreams. This year, she wants to continue improving her English education and achieve Band 3 in her Cambridge University Teacher’s Knowledge Test. She hopes to work as a teacher in a government school and inspire other students just like her teachers at Tea Leaf inspired her.
Your Support:
Your support will help complete a facility that not only transforms education and livelihoods, but also demonstrates how climate action and community development can work hand in hand.
We would be very grateful for any support you would be willing to offer in helping to change the life paths of so many of Sri Lanka’s poorest and most disenfranchised community.