The impact of Teacher Horizons’ charity donations II

9 Aug 2018

Did you know that by using Teacher Horizons, you are helping us support important projects and providing opportunities for thousands of disadvantaged children in developing countries like Sri Lanka? Teacher Horizons donates 10% of all our profits to support education projects that offer opportunities to less fortunate students in developing countries.

Last year, we selected Tea Leaf Vision (TLV) as our charity due to the impact they are having on young people in the tea plantation region of Sri Lanka. Read more about the charity in this blog and read on to meet some of the individuals whose lives we have changed so far.

Hansika’s story

There was a girl. She was very sad about herself and she worried a lot. Now she is very happy to remember her past life, because now when she considers her present life things have improved. All because of one amazing place.

Truly when she came to this place she didn’t have a clue about English.

She had a very bad vision of herself and she didn’t believe she would ever speak English. She was scared of learning English; at government school her and her friends didn’t enjoy English class so they avoided it and roamed freely. One day they were caught and sent to the class, but when they arrived the teacher didn’t even recognise them and thought they were new students at the school.

But things changed when she came to TLV. At first she came very timidly but slowly, step by step she improved and by the end of the year she finished the diploma with a Merit Pass. This is a girl who couldn’t even get a Simple Pass in her English O level!

As well as her difficulty with English she had and still has a lot of problems in her life. But this amazing place has given her some answers to these problems and ways of overcoming them.

Now she is doing the Advanced Diploma in that amazing place. She enjoys her class, has caring and dedicated friends and she speaks English with confidence. More than this she is teaching English to students now; she is proud of herself and her achievements. Now nobody can stop her, she will go far.

Thankyou TLV you made a totally different Hansi – a strong, confident Hansi. Thankyou TLV!

Click here to read more case studies from Tea Leaf Vision

Chamudini’s story

If we learn anything special and new, our focus will fall upon that place.

It was 2016 and my friends Navoda and Sanduni were going to a new English class at a place called Tea Leaf Vision (TLV). They asked me to join them but I had never heard of the place and I thought that it was just another English course, so I didn’t go. Seven months later they had spaces on the Basic English Programme and my friends asked me again. My father encouraged me and so in September, I joined the course. Then I felt a little nervous but thankfully I had my friends who supported me and I completed the programme in December.

I had a great experience and so in January, I applied for the Main Diploma. When I came for the interview I was very nervous but my teachers were very kind and patient with me and so I faced it well. When the Intensive English Programme (IEP) started I was placed in a new class with a completely new group of people. It was difficult at first but as the time passed we became good friends. The IEP was a helpful experience as we learned a lot of basic English, we had fun and we laughed together. But after those two weeks they changed our classes again! It was a hard moment for us, we had already built good friendships but it taught us how to adapt and to change.

My new class name was Enthusiasm: energy, being active and being positive. At first I didn’t feel like that but again we soon made friends and became stronger; supporting, working and laughing together. We worked together during the Talent Show and then the Business Fair becoming stronger and more united all the time. When our class was divided into two teams for Business Fair we still supported each other and when the other team won we still felt as though Enthusiasm together had won.

Our class worked hard to make the most of every opportunity that TLV gave to us. We had the best attendance across the year because we always encouraged each other to come to school, to keep getting these opportunities. Our Success and Ethics [personal development class] teacher, Mr Chandrasageran was our key motivator and champion. Never in my life have I seen such caring teachers as here at TLV. There is no favouritism amongst these teachers they treat us all fairly and they have a big heart for us.

When we graduated from TLV it was an incredibly proud and sad moment. We were all so proud of ourselves and our friends; the skills and English that we have learnt, the people that we are becoming. But also this special time with our friends has come to an end and we are all taking new steps in our journeys.

Now I am an intern at TLV. Thanks to TLV I faced the interview and my teaching observation with confidence. Now I have new friends and new responsibilities as part of our Adventure class. I know that I have to work even harder than last year as we support the Main Diploma students and the teachers. We have new projects like the English Bus Project [mobile library project] where we will be bringing English opportunities to our communities. I am confident that it will be a good experience for us and a great opportunity. I expect that there will be some stress and many responsibilities but for now, thanks to TLV, I am confident that I can face and overcome these things.