Tea Leaf Vision Maskeliya

We have been very busy since our last update - helping at the wonderful Tea Leaf Vision school, which Yas and Tim are doing such a fantastic job of running; climbing Adam's Peak (all 4,800 steep steps of the Buddhist pilgrimage, through the clouds to the summit), relaxing on the beautiful beaches of Unawatuna in Southern Sri Lanka and then travelling to Hanoi, Vietnam via Bangkok.

Our week in Maskeliya was such a unique experience. We settled into village life in the heart of the tea plantations and were almost like minor celebrities, with the locals popping out to wave and say hello as we wandered around. There were a couple of very surprised children pointing and shouting "foreigners" when they saw us - I'm guessing tourists aren't that common in these parts! We cycled up through the the hills and came across a group of children playing game of cricket who were more than happy for us to get involved. Even though most of them don't have much, I've never met such friendly, smiley people in my life.
The landscape around Maskeliya was probably the most beautiful we have ever seen, with tea covered rolling hills and large lakes set to a backdrop of waterfalls and mountains. I don't think we would ever tire of the views.

The teachers working at the Tea Leaf vision school, who only last year were students themselves, are doing an incredible job. The students, most of whom couldn't speak a word of English a year ago, are now learning complex grammer and took part in a speech conference last weekend - which even I would have struggled with! The students were lovely and very excited to have Miss Jill and Mr George at their school. They were keen for me to sing a song in class - obviously have never heard my terrible singing voice!
Yas and Tim are still facing problems with funding this amazing project, so if anyone wants to help go to: tealeaftrust.com and click on 'fundraising and sponsorship' to donate. Once we had seen this first hand we realised just how important the job is that they are doing.

A few photos below:

The view from where we stayed in Maskeliya

The summit of Adams Peak

George with a few of the students at the school

Yas and Tim with some of the teachers