Education Programme Updates - May 2025 - School Meals and Education in Sri Lanka: Keeping Children Healthy, Learning, and Out of Orphanages

A Rainy Welcome, A Powerful Reminder

School Meals and Education in Sri Lanka: Keeping Children Healthy, Learning, and Out of Orphanages

Enormous thanks to everyone who donated in the Big Give. We were able to restart what many described as “life-saving” school meals and essential book packs to 259 malnourished children at Mandalapura and Thinywela Schools in a poor tea plantation area of the Galle district.

Our visit was one we’ll never forget. Despite the pouring rain, parents, teachers, and children stood waiting with flowers they had lovingly picked from their gardens—an incredibly moving gesture of gratitude that set the tone for what was to come.

Inside the bare school hall, as raindrops dripped through the leaking roof, we were welcomed with a heartfelt ceremony filled with emotional speeches and tearful thanks.

It was difficult to ignore how thin and frail many of the children looked. Stories were shared by the children of fainting during lessons due to hunger, and explaining how relieved their parents now feel knowing their children are being fed again.

The gratitude we received was humbling—overwhelming. But we gently reminded everyone that the real thanks belongs to Chamali, an extraordinary young teacher who has been quietly working wonders behind the scenes. Since qualifying four years ago, Chamali has been commuting for over three hours to this remote school, where she now lives during the week to support her students—many of whom live below the poverty line.

It was Chamali’s heartfelt and persistent pleas on behalf of her students that spurred us to act, and we were aware of the personal risk she took by speaking out.

Her courage, your generosity for our Feed the Future programme in the Big Give Christmas Appeal, the Reed Foundation and our shared determination made it happen.

To everyone who donated: thank you. You haven’t just helped fill empty stomachs—you’ve helped change lives by raising attendance, providing nutrition and improving health- as well as lifting the financial burden on poor families which helps keep children at home where they belong and out of institutions for another nyear

A Decade of Dreams:

Celebrating 10 Years of Our Preschool

In February, we celebrated a very special milestone—the 10-year anniversary of the TFT Mercury Holidays International Preschool, a place born from what once felt like an impossible dream, but, inspired by Nelson Mandela we knew ‘It only seems impossible until it is done,’ and his quotations like ‘Education is the weapon we can use to change the world’ adorn the walls.

A decade ago, we set out to create an affordable, nurturing early years centre in a poor rural community—one that would not only offer working parents a safe and stimulating space for their children, but also help to prevent the heartbreaking pattern of child abandonment caused by poverty and lack of childcare.

Thanks to the long-standing support of Mercury Holidays, that dream became a reality. and our celebration was made even more memorable by the first visit from Martin Bugeja, TFT Patron and Chairman of Mercury Holidays.

The tiniest three-year-olds sang and danced to English songs and recited every word of the national anthem and school prayer.

Martin said, “The preschool is certainly on a par with nurseries I’ve seen in the South of England. The children, teachers and staff were all impeccably turned out, courteous and kind—a great credit to everyone involved.”

His words were a wonderful tribute to the dedication and tireless work of Mr Percy and the entire teaching team, who have built something truly remarkable in this poor rural area.

The preschool is a powerful example of how early education can change lives. Over the past 10 years, hundreds of children have passed through its doors, gaining the skills to win scholarships, build confidence to thrive—not just in school, but in life, and also share this learning with their families.

A delicious butter cake—baked in the TFT Bakery, thanks to funds raised by Wimbledon Girls' School—was enjoyed by all. It was made by the girls at Senehasa orphanage, giving them rare moments of creativity and pleasure in an otherwise isolated existence. These girls, survivors of rape and abuse, are locked away from society for their protection, while their perpetrators remain free. We advocate that they need healing, care, and the chance to be with their babies in the warmth of a loving family—not separated, stigmatised and institutionalised.

TFT - Ruhunu Preschool

Unseen, beyond the preschool, our commitment to early childhood education extends further— as two early learning teachers are provided for 40 children at Ruhunu Orphanage, where we proudly opened the TFT - Ruhunu Preschool in 2018. The preschool gives the children much needed routine, interaction and stimulation as well as important early learning development outside of their cots where they would otherwise spend their long days alone.

We are conscious that behind every lost child in an orphanage is the story of a heartbroken mother—a mother who has made the hardest decision of her life: to give up her child, often not out of choice, but out of desperation. And that child waits, day after day, in quiet isolation for years, hoping she will return. Often, she won’t give consent for adoption—because deep down, she dreams of being reunited. Her child remains institutionalised, deprived of life’s most basic need: a mother’s love.

Harnessing Education

& Keeping Children Out of Orphanages

One of the most powerful moments over the past few months was our large-scale community outreach event in Pinkanda, where 1,150 children from the poorest rural communities received school book packs as part of a vibrant and joyful celebration which was organised to perfection by TFT Country Director Mr Percy.

Since our inception, over 30,000 school packs have been donated to countless underserved children in 11 schools mainly in the Southern Province, and this event symbolised far more than the distribution of school resources - it was a powerful statement of TFT’s 20 year dedication to harnessing education as a means of keeping future generations within family environments and out of orphanages. The book giving ceremony served a dual purpose to engage and inform the local community about child protection and the critical need to shift from institutional care to new family based and foster care alternatives.

Held in a rural area where many families live in basic mud homes without access to electricity, sanitation or clean water— the event brought together over 3000 parents and grandparents, creating space for important conversations about the long term solutions to poverty and child abandonment.

With powerful speeches, storytelling, and heartfelt engagement, Southern Province Childcare Probation Commissioner Rasika Dissanayake stood alongside other dignitaries, endorsing TFT’s long-standing vision for a national foster care system and her commitment to pilot the first programme. She gave her heartfelt thanks and acknowledged the long-term harm caused by institutionalisation, while praising TFT’s consistent work in improving the lives of children in orphanages, preventing child abandonment, reuniting families and advocating for reform in child care practices over many years.

Families listened intently and expressed their hopes for a better future for their children- one where education, dignity and family unity are accessible to all, and this reinforced TFT’s message that education is a gateway not just to knowledge, but to a future where every child in Sri Lanka grows up in a safe loving family.

The event was broadcast on TV and radio and featured across National media.