What can 25 cents per day do?

If you grew up in Sri Lanka, your subconscious may remember that servant who washed your clothes in your house and helped you get ready for school, or that kid who served you tea at a restaurant or that kid who wrapped that grocery in a store.

Chances are that kid is from a Tea Plantation, dropped out of school and brought into your house by his/her uncle or father.

You probably didn’t realize that kid had the same dream as you. To study and have a decent job and raise a family.

2.3% of Sri Lankan children work as child laborers. That’s around 100,000 children.

Majority of them are from the tea plantations. Many are abused mentally, physically and sometimes sexually at houses and shops.

Why do they become child laborers?

Because they drop out of school at a very critical age, mostly due to their own parents thinking studies are over and it’s time for the child to take care of the family.

Why?

Because their parents did the same and it has become a vicious cycle. And the citizens of Sri Lanka, with no guilt, accepted that as normal.

So, we wanted to do something about it.

Mr. Siva Nadarajah, who grew up in the tea plantations and witnessed this firsthand approached IMHO to help the children of his hometown and a program evolved. We went to schools, identified those children who are about to get dropped out and helped them cross that one bridge at that tender age so they don’t end up as servants.

We couldn’t help everyone. There are 100,000 of them. So, we decided to help those who excelled in studies. It was a heartbreakingly tough choice.

But it was better than doing nothing.

This year, out of the 75 children who sat for the A/Ls 82% passed the exams. Around 35-40 could go to university. Some may be doctors, engineers and professors, just like you and me. And there was a district topper in the batch.

We spend 25 cents (US) per day on this. And the results were magical!!