Thursday 16th February 2023

I was up far too early this morning to try to get to Bogawantalawa at a decent time. I was supposed to have breakfast at 07:00 and leave at 07:30, but I ended up being 15 minutes off schedule, which is nothing here! It was a wonderful breakfast too, as it was hoppers - my absolute favourite here. After breakfast, Nilanga and his wife Radha took me to Norwood, where I caught the bus to Bogawantalawa.

It was only 100 LKR (less than 25p) for the one-hour bus journey, which is almost unbelievable. I got off the bus just before it reached the town centre, and made my way to Tea Leaf Centre Bogawantalawa, arriving shortly after 09:00. Gobi was looking out for me, and seemed surprised that I was a bit late, whilst I was amazed that I got there as early as I did, and it would have been virtually impossible for me to have got there any earlier!

It was wonderful to be at Tea Leaf Centre Bogawantalawa. They are fortunate to have the most beautiful building and grounds in fabulous surroundings. I watched one lesson this morning, and then spent the afternoon working with Kavi on the Tea Leaf Trust Teacher Training Programme, which is a follow-on to the Rotary International Project. There are 26 teachers in what is effectively cohort 5 of this excellent programme.

I also helped Kavi by taking part in one of her online lessons with the 26 teachers, who are now from places as far away as Kandy, and even Colombo, which is rather exciting! The teachers were very responsive, and it was fun working with them. Afterwards, I walked into Bogowantala town with Gobi to have a cup of tea, and we then walked to Kavi's parents' house to pick up Merashini, as they had been looking after her for the day. 

Today's photographs show my lovely breakfast, my trip to Norwood with Nilanga and Radha, a class at Bogawantalawa, me with Shameena - a teacher I know well from my time in Maskeliya last year - and Gobi with his daughter Merashini.










Comments

  1. CharlesFebruary 17, 2023 at 1:11 AM

    I am curious as to why there is online tuition for the 26 trainees at the same time as they attend a physical classroom - particularly when I see how attentive they are in the classroom photo!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Peter HFebruary 17, 2023 at 5:02 AM

    Great commentary as usual and interesting pictures. How do you feel things have changed since you were last there - any ‘green shoots’ visible?

    ReplyDelete

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