- Sri Lankan employees
The Tea Leaf Trust was set up specifically to help the most impoverished groups of people living on the island, to give them the skills to help improve their situation. We want these groups of people, once equipped with the relevant skills, to help manage and run Tea Leaf Trust projects. Those who we are trying to help often know exactly what is needed to move them from deprivation and dependence to a position of empowered independence. It is only right that Sri Lankan nationals run projects to help their fellow Sri Lankans.
- Applications to Trusts and Foundations
There are a large number of trusts and foundations that support long-term educational projects seeking to change the situation of the world's poorest people. We want to secure funding from these grant-giving bodies whilst we establish our project self-sustaining schemes, which should then enable our Tea Leaf Trust projects to run independently.
- Working with locally-based NGOs
There are a number of local NGOs that provide support and facilities for projects aiming to provide education for the poorest communities in Sri Lanka. The Tea Leaf Trust is in contact with two: Beacon Hill Academy and World Vision. Our 'Who We Work With' page provides more information about these organisations and what they will provide.
- Charging a reduced fee to the parents of primary-aged school children for English lessons
As a compulsory part of the free, one-year Professional Development Training Course, all students will teach a basic English programme to up to 20 primary school aged children, within their communities, once a week (Maskeliya Community English Programme). This will be a fee-paying course, charging each child the equivalent of approximately 60p a month (100 rupees). All money raised as a result of this course, will go towards the running costs education projects in Maskeliya.
- Business links
The Tea Leaf Trust will offer a job brokerage service for students enrolled on our one-year Professional Business Development Course. The Tea Leaf Trust will seek out, and place, students in businesses that need employees with professional English and business skills. The Tea Leaf Trust will charge each business a modest finder's fee, half to be paid when the graduate is employed and the outstanding amount to be settled 6 months after the employment start date. Work placements will be monitored by the Tea Leaf Trust and if any of our graduates are in anyway mistreated by their employees, we would seek to remove them to other positions as soon as possible.
The Tea Leaf Trust is linked with Sri Lankan Driver Tours (www.srilankandrivertours.com), a Sri Lankan tour company that provides ethical driving tours around the island. Once the drivers have been paid a fair wage, 10% of the profits come directly to the charity. Please see the links page for further information about this ethical family-run Sri Lankan tour company.