Thursday 22nd February 2024

When you are feeling completely drained, physically, mentally, and emotionally, having your last full working day at Tea Leaf Centre Bogawantalawa is a bonus - and particularly with Gobi and Kavi, who are one of my favourite couples anywhere. They have both been excellent to work with, and it is very relaxing staying with them, especially as their daughter Merashini is such a delightful little girl - and much less of a handful now than she was when I stayed a year ago!

The whole morning was spent at St. Mary's College, a big secondary school in Bogawantalawa, where Kavi went herself as a young girl. We were there to meet with teachers who had been on various cohorts of the 6-month English programme for government school teachers, including 3 teachers from Kavi's current Cohort 7. It was all arranged at their end by Mr. Vijayakanthan, who was on Cohort 7, and had Peter Hopwood as his volunteer native English speaker.

I met with Tharunika, the daughter of Rosalinmary, who was one of the Sri Lankan teachers I had conversations with, but couldn't come to St. Mary's herself today. I was then taken to chat to the new group of English 'A' Level students, before finishing up in a bi-lingual class for Years 7, 8, and 9 students, who discussed their ambitions with me, as in 'I would like to become a neurologist', which I have to say was extremely impressive indeed!

What Gobi and Kavi have achieved with the Tea Leaf International Project is truly impressive too, and it is one of the projects that I am most proud of. The link with St. Mary's is particularly strong, with many of their teachers having completed the 6-month English programme for government school teachers, and many of their 'A' Level students going on to take Tea Leaf's Main Diploma at Tea Leaf Centre Bogawantalawa, so long may this link continue!

Today's photos are almost all from my fabulous morning at St. Mary's College, with just a few of me saying goodbye to this lovely cohort of students at Tea Leaf Centre Bogawantalawa.















Comments

  1. TimFebruary 23, 2024 at 2:12 AM

    Hi Keith, I tend to binge read your blogs a week at a time, hence my rather sparse comments. Clearly you have made and continue to make a huge difference to the school’s with which you are involved. I am not sure when you arrive back in the UK, but from the sound of it you will be straight off to Croatia. We leave for Sri Lanka in early April and are planning to meet with Tim P and our teachers when we are in Nuwara Eliya. I hope by then we will have had some feedback from Jit on the Indian funding for the new phase of the International project. If you are meeting him during your time in Colombo, you might give him a gentle nudge! Have a safe journey home. Tim

    ReplyDelete
  2. CharlesFebruary 24, 2024 at 1:35 AM

    Good photos - especially the ones in which you are seen to be at the centre of the action!

    ReplyDelete

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