An amazing time with Tea Leaf Vision in Sri Lanka

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.