“We can no longer accommodate all the children who want to enrol in our school, with overcrowded classrooms, currently bursting at the seams – one group with 70 students in same classroom. We may need to turn some away soon, but it breaks our heart as education just cannot wait. We want to ensure that every child in our community has access to education.”

Divyadharshan and his family are faced with an unthinkable choice. Whilst his mother dreams of sending him and his siblings to be educated, an opportunity she did not have, education fees and school resource costs are just too draining on a tea-picker’s mere daily wage of A$4 – even buying shoes or a school bag is a big strain.

Due to his family’s dire circumstances, Divyadharshan dropped out of school at 16 to get a job to help provide for the family. He is not alone – many of his peers are forced to leave school prematurely, and many of these vulnerable teenagers end up leaving their homes to find work in the bigger cities.

Teens like Divyadharshan are forced to drop out of school to work to supplement household income, which is especially needed as Sri Lanka goes through its worst humanitarian and economic crisis in decades. These young people are then more likely to experience unemployment, be exploited for cheap labour or easily preyed upon by unscrupulous individuals, perpetuating the generational cycle of poverty.

“We can no longer accommodate all the children who want to enrol in our school, with overcrowded classrooms, currently bursting at the seams – one group with 70 students in same classroom. We may need to turn some away soon, but it breaks our heart as education just cannot wait. We want to ensure that every child in our community has access to education.”

Divyadharshan and his family are faced with an unthinkable choice. Whilst his mother dreams of sending him and his siblings to be educated, an opportunity she did not have, education fees and school resource costs are just too draining on a tea-picker’s mere daily wage of A$4 – even buying shoes or a school bag is a big strain.

Due to his family’s dire circumstances, Divyadharshan dropped out of school at 16 to get a job to help provide for the family. He is not alone – many of his peers are forced to leave school prematurely, and many of these vulnerable teenagers end up leaving their homes to find work in the bigger cities.

Teens like Divyadharshan are forced to drop out of school to work to supplement household income, which is especially needed as Sri Lanka goes through its worst humanitarian and economic crisis in decades. These young people are then more likely to experience unemployment, be exploited for cheap labour or easily preyed upon by unscrupulous individuals, perpetuating the generational cycle of poverty.